


Kitsunetsuki

by SmolMo



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Anxiety, Broken Families, Childhood Friends, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Fox beanie, I-don’t-really-care-journal, Injury, Injury Recovery, Miya Atsumu is a Little Shit, Oc is smol, Pining Miya Atsumu, Protective Miya Atsumu, Recovery, She is like my little sister ( Actually she is not you idiot), Slow Burn, Supportive Miya Osamu, Team Fluff, You Should Have Come to Shiratorizawa, cursing, no beta we die like men, panic attack in chapter 9
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-13
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:21:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 82,739
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26992825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SmolMo/pseuds/SmolMo
Summary: When Atsumu first met Yuki at Volleyball training camp, he had mistaken her for a boy, mocked her and got in a physical fight with her while his twin brother watched.Years later, they are in High School together, setter and manager of the volleyball team and as the end of their first year approaches things start to become more and more complicated... I mean Yuki is like his little sister isn't she?
Relationships: Miya Atsumu/ Hokkyoku Yuki (OC), Miya Atsumu/Original Female Character(s), Miya Atsumu/Reader, Miya Osamu/Suna Rintarou
Comments: 47
Kudos: 129





	1. Still tall enough to chop off yer kneecaps

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys,
> 
> I was somewhat inspired to write this story at 3 am in the morning while my remaining three brain cells were humming some song from TikTok. I originally wanted to write this as an Atsumu Miya/reader fanfiction but I find writing in 2nd person is rather hard for me. So I decided to Name the character Instead.
> 
> This story starts in the Miyas first year of high school, in January to be exact. 
> 
> The main characters last name derives from the Japanese word for Arctic Fox (hokkyoku-gitsune). Since all of the Inarizaki members are named after Foxes I found it fitting.

There was something serene about the way the water flowed slowly into the bottles. A routine in pure silence, only interrupted by the sound of some early blackbird chirping the first tunes of that morning and the sound of her own breath manifesting in small puffs of smoke in that cold air. January and with it the new year just announced themselves with a new cold front and Shirayuki Hokkyoku was wrapped in a thick scarf and that new white fox eared knitted beanie her father got for Christmas. At least the maroon tracksuit she was wearing was a little bit more warming than he school uniform but the cold made her tired…I mean it was early in the morning but the weather contributed very much to her condition. The young girl suppressed another yawn and cursed under her breath about the damn cold and why again she volunteered to get up so early and help with morning practices. That’s right because she was somehow dragged into the Inarizaki Boys Volleyballs manager position in her first year after the third year manager Misaki Sato had left the team.

  
The silence was disturbed by the crunching noise of approaching footsteps and she saw due to her peripheral vision that two males came closer from the side. A sharp inhale of breath was heard from one of the males, just like he just was about to say something. It was interrupted immediately, when Yuki turned around and looked at the two boys, identical except for the colour of their hair, with a cool glance.

"Don’t you dare Good Morning me," she muttered screwing the top onto the last bottle "You are late once again!"

She glanced at them. The twins too had wrapped a scarf around their necks to protect them from the cold.

"Sorry Yu" the grey-haired one Osamu muttered while the blonde one Atsumu just grinning sheepishly and scratched the back of his neck and then proceeded to yawn loudly without holding his hand in front of his mouth.

"Sorry, my ass…" Yuki turned to the bag at her feet, already filled up with water bottles "Do you know how long I was freezing my limbs off at the station waiting for one of you to text that yer be running late? But noo the text didn’t come…I waited until I decided I’d rather freeze my limbs off here than there… thank goodness I had the key on me… or I would have…"

"Frozen ya limbs off" Atsumu the little shit grinned and mockingly put his hands together as if he would apologize "It’s hard to get up so early in winter"

That smirking scarecrow. Idiotic piss haired lazy-ass Ken doll wannabe. At least Osamu had the decency to actually look apologetic.

“Yeah…. right….” she muttered and pulled the white knitted beanie she was wearing on her head down again so that her ears were covered „Say… how’s it possible for me to get up early, make it to the gym and open it up and you can’t...even though we live like five minutes from each other? “

She actually managed to put that mess of hair on her head into two decent braids that were loosely hanging just past her shoulders.

„Because Tsumu is an idiot that doesn’t listen to anyone…not even the alarm clock,” Osamu sighed and shuffled his feet “Anyway we better get goin’ change and warm-up and stuff……apologies?” He held out two square lunchboxes wrapped in a dotted cloth „Ya Lunches. “

“I have already bought lunch” Yuki grumbled and continued shoving the water bottles into the bag.

“Yakisoba buns bought at the convenience store are not considered a healthy lunch” Osamu stated practically shoved the packages into your hand “You better eat up…otherwise I’ll get an earful from mum why I didn’t make sure that you ate properly.”

Damn, checkmate there was no reasoning with the wrath of Shizue Miya. That woman brought up Atsumu and Osamu and she knew were Yuki lived…so…  
“Yeah…yeah smartass” Yuki rolled her amber eyes and carefully placed the lunchboxes on the ground with one hand and turned around to screw the water faucet shut with her other hand. “…go get changed before I change my mind and tell Kita-San that you were late…”

“No need to be bossy we’re on our way…” Atsumu muttered and slightly pulled at one of the dark braids sticking out of beanie “Wishing you a wonderful good morning Yuki”

“Very mature Atsumu!” Yuki yelled not bothering to turn around. This would be a long day.

It took her some time to adjust the weight of the bag on her shoulders before Yuki made her way back to the gym. Holding the lunch in the other hand and humming a tune to help her ignore the slight discomfort increasing in her left knee and imagining what Shizue Miya had put in her bento today when she heard someone calling her name from the Gym entrance.

“Yuki-san” it was Aran who had spotted and was now coming towards her “May I help ya with that?” he said pointing towards the heavy bag slung over her shoulder.

“Actually it’s not that heav-” Yuki started but Aran simply took the bag off her with a polite smile “okay…never mind, thanks Aran-san”

“Don’t mention it” he muttered and eyed the bento in Yuki's other hands “How late were the idiots today?”

“Just arrived… this morning I waited at the bus station for fifteen minutes.”

“It’s still 6 am technically it’s still in the morning…” they heard someone say from inside the gym and saw Suna leaning against the frame of the door hiding being the screen of his phone.

“If Kita-san sees you using that in the gym Suna” Yuki sighed as she changed into her gym shoes at the entrance.

“Well, Hokkyoku he isn’t there yet is he?” Rintarō muttered and went back inside not looking up from the screen.

“That boy….” Yuki sighed and turned to the second-year wing spiker “Thanks Aran-san…I can take them from here…”

But Aran just silently shook his head and went over to place the bag next to the bench where the manager and the coaches usually sat. This morning it was reserved only for Yuki. He looked back with a smile and winked before resuming to his warm-up drills that consisted of turning lunges.She saw that they already had put up the nets. Somethings she couldn’t have done earlier since she had been alone and was thankful that this task had already been done…then again Aran was pretty independent when it came to those things and he could control Rintarō somewhat alright.

“Suna get moving…you better warm-up too…” Yuki yelled as she made her way to the bench ignoring the glare she got from her fellow first-year “You have 10 seconds to gimme that phone of yours or I’ll tell Kita that just showed up to school to have access to the Wi-Fi”

“I hate you” Suna grumbled nevertheless handing over the phone to Yuki who shoved the device into the pocket of her maroon tracksuit. He haltered then, pulled at one of the fox ears knitted into the beanie “By the way that hat looks ridiculous.”

“Thanks, I’ll remember to write that information down into my I-don’t-really-care-journal” Yuki smiled at him and to add effect grabbed the pen and clipboard that lay next to her on the bench and clicked the pen impatiently “Ten…nine…eight…”

“Alright…alright,” Suna said and started to half-heartily jog around the gym.

“You two better join in right away,” Yuki mumbled as she spotted the twins at the doorway “Kita-san should be here any minute and it’s probably best if you lot look mildly warmed up before that.”

“Ya know…threating us with Kita-san is just as if a kindergartener threatens to tell his mommy” Atsumu teased dropping the jacket of his tracksuit on the bench next to the Yuki and started running after Suna and soon overtook him.

“Another thing to add into my I-don’t-really-care-journal thank you very much Tsumu” Yuki suppressed yet another yawn and finished writing up the layout for the notes on today. She considered sitting cross-legged on the bench, to conserve warmth but feared that the pain in her knee would start up again and decided just to pull her right leg close to her chest to lean on it while writing her notes on the thighs of her left leg.

“Morning! Sorry, we’re late!” Yūto Kosaku and Hitoshi Ginjima the remaining first years said when they came into the Gym.

"Take notes Atsumu...that’s how you apologize,” Yuki yelled over at the blonde twin that joined Aran in his lunges „Suna... Osamu pick up the pace... Kosaku-san, Gin-san If you please. “

She nodded towards Yūto and Hitoshi and ticked their attendance off the list. Now for there was just Kita-san missing for this special morning practice. It was weird that he was the last one…must be busy doing something on campus. Today was the first practice of the new year and the first day of school after winter break and Kita-san wanted to train specifically with the new first years. As the third years had all decided to leave the club after Interhigh to focus on their studies Kita-san, just a second year at this point was eager to condition the first years that were about to go to the Spring Tournament.

Since the gym door was closed now Yuki put down the clipboard, took the scarf and beanie off, picked at her sideswiped bangs and braids, peeled out of the tracksuit jacket and laid it carefully on the bench (Suna’s phone was in there after all) and got up to wheel in the trolley with the balls from the equipment room. In her black sports t-shirt, she could feel the chill on her bare arms, the little hairs standing up as she crossed the gym. She wheeled the trolley across the gym passing Kita who’d just entered the building holding a large box.

“Good morning Kita-san…do you need a hand with that?” Yuki stopped the trolley to glance at what was inside the box.

“Good morning to you too Yuki-san” Kita nodded “Thanks but there is no need…I hope it wasn’t any trouble that you had to join us this early?”

“Oh not at all,” she smiled and continued wheeling the trolley to the other side of the gym noticing Atsumu across the gym smirking and visibly mouthing the word liar at her. While she was busy checking whether the volleyballs needed to get new air-filled into them Kita warmed up too and as she finished checking the balls the whole team was stretching. Yuki turned around, her back to the team and took one of the volleyballs in her hand. It was so familiar in her small hands that were still calloused in some places and she considered playing around a bit. Setting for herself just to remember how it felt when the ball was taken from her hand by a tall figure.

“Is that for me?” Atsumu grinned down at her and tested the bounciness of the balls.

“I thought yer guys were strechin’” Yuki glared up at him “and gimme the ball back.”

“I’m all warmed up n stretched see” Atsumu grinned and held the ball up with his hand so that I towered over Yuki. Heat radiating from his tall body. “If you were taller you’d be actually able to reach it don’t ya pigtails.”

“I’m still tall enough to chop off yer kneecaps Tsumu…and by the way these are braided not pigtails…but someone with hair choices like yours probably wouldn’t know that.”

“Yeah…yeah…you go makin’ yer threats about chopping off kneecaps,” he smirked and effortlessly pulled at one braid with his unoccupied hand.

“If yer were so kind and gave me that thin’ back I would,” Yuki rolled her eyes.

“Come and get it” he chuckled and lowered his arm slightly. It was still too high for her to reach normally she would need to jump very high.  
Idiotic Atsumu and his cursed height. She could jump and reach the ball somehow but that was a risk so she instead decided to forcefully poke Atsumu in his side causing him to slightly shift. It didn’t help much, damn Atsumu and his flexed muscles. Yuki still had to jump a little and came down a little unbalanced but she managed to reach the ball and tossed it back over her shoulder into the trolley.

“ Say was that this so-called murder attempt Yu? Oh woooow….Now I am scared,” Atsumu chuckled but haltered when he saw the expression on her face “Yer okay?”

“I’m alright…” Yuki said gritting her teeth the waves of sudden pain in her ebbing off slowing.

“Ya sure?”

“Yes I’m sure…not stop it with that face Atsumu you look constipated” Yuki grumbled shook her legs to make the shivers going down her limbs go away. Then went to get the other cart and positioned it right across the other one in the gym.

“Yuki-san if you would please toss the balls we’d like to start practising spikes,” Kita-san said to her and she nodded and got into position. The boys all lined up more or less looking excited to spike “All right?” she yelled “Ready…and go!”

And the gym was filled with the noise of loud spikes hitting the ground. Around one and a half-hour later Yuki got out of the girls’ dressing room now dressed in the Inarizaki school uniform. She made her way down the stairs feeling uncomfortable with that swishing maroon skirt and desperately tried to put everything in its proper place…why didn’t she check her appearance in the mirror a third time?

  
“Stop tugging,” she heard Atsumu say at the bottom of the staircase. He, Osamu and Suna were waiting there too “It looks fine…”

“Yer tie is loose” Yuki commented dryly and adjusted her backpack “I need to get some Oolong from the vending machine or I’ll fall asleep during the English test.”

“Wait what English test?” Atsumu suddenly said looking around at his teammates. Osamu just stared at him blankly while Suna was busy looking at his phone.

“I’ll get you some Oolong…” Osamu sighed and got up “As an apology for being late this morning? I’ll see ya inside alright?

“What English test? Sumu…you didn’t tell me!” Atsumu complained but his twin ignored him.

“The vocabulary test sensei told us about before winter break Tsumu…” Yuki shook her head then stood on her tip toes and yelled after the grey-haired twin “Sumu make sure it’s the one with the lemon flavor!” He raised a hand to tell her he’d hear her.

“Yuuuuukiiii-chaaan! Can you lend me your notes?” Atsumu immediately whined.

“No…you were late this morning and besides it’s just a vocabulary test…you had all winter break to study for it.” Yuki commented and moved past the blonde “Don’t try to use the puppy dog eyes on me…they won’t work!”

“Yuuuuuuuu, pleaassse I’ll buy you some pocky after school or somethin’” that shit had the audacity to pull her back from the back of her Blazer.

“Noooo…. let me fix your tie for you…you look ridiculous!” Yuki sighed and went some steps again to comfortably reach Atsumus neck. She considered strangling him for a second…but murder would not be a good thing to have on her permanent record.  
“What about some chocolate cake then?” Atsumu suggested looking up at Yuki's concentrated face the tip of her tongue peeking out from the side like every time she was focused.

“…fine…” Yuki sighed and finished tugging at the tie around Atsumus neck “I’ll let you look over my notes once we’re inside…”

“Then let’s go” Atsumu turned around and practically ran towards the school building.

“Yeah…the puppy eyes totally didn’t work on you” Suna snickered looking up from his phone.

“Shut yer trap Suna” Yuki muttered and they moved after Atsumu.

Once they were inside and changed their shoes Osamu caught up to them handing Yuki over a bottle of Oolong tea, ignoring the little group of girls that was giggling behind him pointing towards Yuki some with the audacity of pointing with their fingers.

“Maybe the hat does look ridiculous” Yuki sighed and nervously took it off her head. What was she thinking…she wasn’t in elementary school anymore.

“Well, I think it looks better on me” Atsumu grabbed the beanie and put it on his mop of hair and looked at the three expectantly “Don’t ya think?”

He was met with silence…except the click of the sound of the camera on Suna’s phone.  
“No…” Rintarō finally said, “even though it does look ridiculous on Yuki she can pull it off….”

“Aww… was there a compliment hidden in your statement Suna-kuuun? And Suna-kun….you used my first name! How sweet of you!” Yuki grinned.

“Slip of the tongue Hokkyoku…it won’t happen again!” he muttered and moved along to get to class “See you guys…”

“Well he isn’t entirely wrong…” Atsumu grinned as he shoved the beanie back on to Yuki's head messing up her hair again “I look cool and all but it looks better on ya!”

“Idiot…ya don’t need butter up...I already promised to let you look into my notes…” Yuki muttered and put the beanie into her locker, leaving the scarf on.

“Guys…hurry up…. Yuki you need to have some breakfast before class starts!” Osamu urged and turned around to leave.

At that moment another group of girls entered the building, all of them shouldering their sports bags just having come from their own morning practice. Some of them spotted Yuki and uttered a good morning, which she returned with a nod. Biting her lip, she turned around to unnecessarily check if she had everything she needed for classes for the third time.

“You miss them don’t ya….” Atsumu mumbled, she could feel his gaze on her.

“I don’t….” Yuki mumbled and grabbed her bags “Let’s get going we’ll be late for class” and despite the throbbing in her left knee being very present she hurried along into the School Building

“Well…if that isn’t a lie...” Atsumu sighed and joined after her Osamu following silently suit.


	2. Atsumu apparently forgot that the exam sheet had exercises on the backside

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter two is already up...crazy right? I didn't expect it happening that fast but hey...it did.  
> This chapter is somewhat hinting of what topic this fanfiction will have...at least some of them. 
> 
> Big shout out to Demenscous whose works and especially "I Hope It Hurts" have given me the inspiration to start writing again and coming up with this piece. Check her out!

„All right, class dismissed, “the teacher said, stacking the test papers and left the room. The entire class 1-3 sighed in relief, and some of them started chatting, stretching in their seat, and packing their stuff. Yuki slumped down her head on the table, hiding yet another yawn. Thank goodness for lunch break and that her test went pretty well. Just a vocabulary test, alright…it was half a grammar test. Their English teacher was a sadist…Yuki was more and more sure. Now she needed five minutes in peace and silence to relax before…

“Yuuuuuki-chaaaan!” Atsumu had strolled over from the other side of the classroom and slumped into the empty seat in front of hers. So much for having five minutes of peace. “Ya really saved my ass with those note of yours.”

“Cool…now can you leave me alone like for five minutes?” Yuki murmured into her desk.

“But you promised to have lunch with us?” Atsumu complained and tapped her on the forehead repeatedly and emphasized his every next word with a tap “You-need-to-eat-your-lunch-now-or-you’ll-feel-sleepy-in-the-afternoon-classes-if-you-eat-it-late!”

“Stop that,” Yuki slapped his hand away, looked up, and glared at the little shit who was grinning triumphantly. “Alright…I’ll get my things….and we’ll sit on your side…at least we’ll have a nice view of the schoolyard…. where’s Sumu, by the way?”

“Bathroom…he’ll join us too…” Atsumu said standing up and putting one hand on his hips.

  
“Obviously…” Yuki muttered and grabbed the Bentos from her school bag. She peeled out of her blazer to be more comfortable while eating, stood up, and immediately regretting it. She had stood up too quickly and underestimated her balance a little bit so that her hips bumped against the table.

“Y’all right?” Atsumu immediately asked and made an attempt to steady her.

“Yeah, yeah…stop hovering…” the brunette rolled her eyes but cursed inside her head. “Lead the way Barbie…”

They strolled past other classmates eating their lunches, chatting, and some of them napping on their desks to the other side of the room, where Atsumu und Osamu had occupied two seats next to each other and, as usual, had the tables put together so their little trio could sit around it. It was kind of boring in class sitting so far away from the boys…but at least she was able to concentrate more on class rather than having to pull things out of her hair every few minutes. Yuki hummed a tune as she unwrapped the cloth and put it on the desk before checking her one of her lunches. Jackpot. One of them had Omurice and Sausages with that chilli garlic sauce she loved so much with a side of veggies.

“Why did mam put the ketchup in your Omurice in a heart shape, and mine is just a streak” Atsumu whined, peaking over to look what Yuki got. The blonde twin got food jealous whenever Osamu and he got slightly different things in their lunches.

  
One time in middle school, he threw such a tantrum over banana milk that he had to go to the guidance counsellor.

“Because mum loves her more than you,” Osamu said sitting down opposite Atsumu and promptly got kicked in the shin “Ouch……”

“Guys…can we just have lunch in peace for once?” Yuki said and stared both of them down, the effect decreased by the fact that a piece of the omelette was dangerously dangling out of her mouth.

“If you want that you need to have lunch somewhere else…” another voice said and the trio turned around to see Suna standing behind them. He looked around shortly before grabbing an empty chair and sat down across Yuki acknowledging her with a nod and a quiet “Hokkyoku…”

“Suna…” she replied shovelling rice into her mouth. No time for teasing. Food.

“Why are you here? Go to ya own class.” Atsumu grumbled pocking at his sausages still upset about the Omurice-Ketchup-Heart-disaster.

“Because the people in my class are idiots….” Suna said unpacking his own lunch, store-bought sandwiches and apple slices then added: “I mean you guys are idiots too…but far more amusing than that bunch….”

“I guess I’ll take it as a compliment?” Osamu stated and nipped at his drink banana milk… the same thing Atsumu had…thank goodness.

“So how was your test…how bad did you do,” Suna asked eying the sandwich suspiciously.

“I did pretty well actually Yu-chans notes were amazing…just add –ed at the end of the verb form to build the past tense…easy…and I was done so quickly…”

“I saw that” Osamu wondered “You were done halfway through. Annoying me with that pen clicking.”

“I was bored…” Atsumu shrugged “And hungry…what took you guys so long? The rest of the class too…”

“Well…” Yuki started nibbling a carrot “I had to think about how to write some of these irregular verb forms…like what to put first o or u in bought….”

“Wait…what?” Atsumu suddenly froze “Irregular?”. The piece of sausage on his chopsticks dropping into his bento again.

“Yes? There were quite a lot of difficult ones,” Yuki wondered and looked at him still frozen. What was up with him? You could see the gears turning…. slowly…but turning. Osamu on the other hand understood what Atsumus expression meant…must be that twin telepathy thing… snorted and chocked on his rice. He laughed and simultaneously coughing while also trying not to breathe not to suffocate and Atsumus face slowly got redder and redder.

“Oh noo….” Yuki put her chopsticks down and looked back and forth between the two of them “Don’t tell me…. Ooh, Atsumu you idiot!”

She put a hand on her temple to massage it….and she really thought sometimes that a setter with the capacity of calculating his sets as he did had some intelligence.

“Care to explain what’s happening?” Suna murmured picking the tomatoes out of his sandwich. Why did he get a tomato and cheese sandwich if he didn’t eat the tomatoes anyway?

“Atsumu apparently forgot that the exam sheet had exercises on the backside…” Yuki still massaging her temple said, “Are you okay Samu…or do you need an ambulance…”

“I’m fine…. I’m fine,” Osamu chuckled and took another sip of his drink while Atsumu just shoved food into his mouth in silent anger and pouted. It took Yuki all of her restrained not to smile at this expression, especially since he had some rice sticking to his chin. She instead decided to slightly nudge his knee with hers under the table and tapped at her own chin at the exact spot where Atsumu had rice stuck on him. Yuki even felt amused enough to give him a wink before turning to Osamu and she swore she could hear Suna whispering

“As I said…dumb but amusing….”

“Can you give ya mum my thanks…the food was excellent as always,” Yuki finally said putting away her first bento and peeking into the second one…Another jackpot…Pancakes with fruit salad.

“You can tell her yourself this evening…aren’t you coming over for dinner? She’s making tonkatsu.” Osamu wondered.

“No…I have to go to Osaka after training today…I might even have to leave a little early to catch the train…” Yuki murmured and felt all three pair of eyes on her so added “Just regular physio…nothing special.”

Atsumu opened his mouth to say something but Osamu quickly interrupted him “Alright…I’ll text mum later on and tell her ya ain’t coming …. but she won’t be happy…and you’ll have to deal with that.”  
“I will …. didn’t you just say earlier that she loves me more than you?”

“I said she loved ya more than Tsumu.”  
“Well, that isn’t hard…” Suna murmured leaning back in his chair and getting his phone out of the pocket…

“Ne…. Rintarou-kuuun does that mean you like me more than the twins?” Yuki teased.

“I would say from the three of you…you are the one I least hate….soo….” He said starting to scroll and therefore being absent from further conversations. The four (more or less) of them kept bickering throughout lunch, while Yuki finished her pancakes now the twins saved their second lunch for before afternoon training and Suna was so busy scrolling on his phone he forgot that he bit off all his apple slices once and put them back untouched.

“No really…. I really think that Ushijima from Shiratorizawa is part robot…I mean he had no expressions at all…” Atsumu declared “Man I wish we had got to play their team…maybe this Spring Tournament…”

“Dunno…if you’d want that his spiked seem pretty hard to deflect,” Yuki said, “but if anyone could get them it’s Akagi-senpai.”

“Why do you always get these heart eyes when you talk about him…” Atsumu muttered, “He is great and all…but I don’t see you calling Aran or Kita senpai.”

“At least I have the decency to give them suffixes,” Yuki said and stood up “and as you said Akagi-senpai is a great player…and I respect him for that…”

“I swear heart eyes again” Atsumu muttered crossing his arms.

“And that is bothering you why?” Suna said over his phone.

Silence…from Atsumu who was again looking like he was concentrating very hard. Yuki shook her head and wrapped up her lunchboxes humming again “I’ll go stretch out my legs and stuff before class starts….”

Then she turned around to get to her desk. When she looked around she saw Atsumu kicking Osamu again from under the desk…apparently the grey-haired twin must have said something funny because Suna even showed an inkling of a smirk. She shook her head…those Idiots. She grabbed the now empty bottle of Oolong tea, her wallet and went outside the classroom…to the teachers’ lounge to let the coach know she’d have to leave early and to the bottle dispenser…and maybe to get another bottle of iced tea for the afternoon…. but before that, she had to go empty her bladder.

In the bathroom she was just about to wash her hand she encountered a group of giggling girls…the same ones from this morning who has pointed at her. She tried to ignore their shrill voices as best as she could…she never understood girls like than…in general she’d always gotten along better with boys in elementary…and ever since middle school she was in the same class as at least one pair of the Miyas. But giggling girls…ugh….her teammates in the Middle school volleyball club had been alright…a bit whiny…but okay…

“Oi are you listening?” one of the girls, a tall one from class 1-4 snapped her fingers in front of Yuki's nose.

“Sorry…I wasn’t…. umm…” Name…what was her name again Higumoto?

“Megumi Higurashi…If you didn’t know,” she said proudly and confidently “So…I…heard…that you are the new manager of the boys’ volleyball team…after that whatsherface left.”

“I am….” Yuki nodded. Where was Higurashi going with that….and why were the other girls behind her giggling and talking in hushed tones.

“Soo…I was thinking…you probably have their numbers and all that”

“I have…” she nodded again and the giggling got louder.

“So….” Higurashi smirked, “How about you give me the number of those cute Miya twins…you know…the one with the coloured hair…superhot…tall…athletic…”

“Yeah…um…no thanks…” Yuki said feeling more and more uncomfortable.

“What?” she looked shocked and the girls stopped giggling and started glaring “Oh I understand…you want the whole boys for yourself don’t you?”

“First of all…I don’t own them…and secondly Higurashi-san…if you want their number so bad…you can ask them yourself…I have no interest in giving out other people’s private information.”

And Yuki turned and left the bathroom. She wasn’t even five steps away when Higurashi and her gang of girls came out of the bathroom and grabbed Yukis hand twisting her arm a little.

“Listen up you little shrimp” she whispered quiet enough so only Yuki could hear her.

Yuki winced, that had been unexpected. Higurashi was not strong by any means…but she was tall and that helped towering over Yuki in this situation. Yuki contemplated knowing a few self-defence techniques in throwing a curveball and twisting Higurashi arm in return…but she didn’t want her to go tell a teacher and twist a story…I mean she had giggle, gigglier and giggliest to back her story.

“What do you want Higurashi…” Yuki tried the diplomatic approach instead.

“I already told you I want their numbers….”

“I was clear that I won’t be giving out information” Yuki glared and used her manager stare which made the three gigglers back up a little one of them even muttered, “C’mon Megumi…let it be.”

“No…I won’t! I—“ Megumi said but was interrupted by a cold almost bored voice.

“If I were you I’d listen to her…the pig is correct and clearly the smartest among you” It was Suna coming down the hallway, one hands stuffed into the pockets of his blazer the other one holding his phone, looking bored and unimpressed except a little spark in his eyes…anger?

“Pig?” the same girl squeaked which made that comparison not diminish in the least.

“Yeah…or…I can go and show the guidance counsellor the little photo I made from this incident….”

With that, the girls left rather quickly. Suna approached Yuki in silence…

“Are you not going to ask me if I’m okay?” Yuki muttered a little stunned

“Na…I knew you’d be alright …. I doubt they’d be okay if you had done your little self-defence thingy…so…” he mumbled “Don’t you dare thank me…I’ll just add this to my list of things you owe me….”

“Really…you made a list?” Yuki chuckled “So…what’s the tab…never mind I’ll regret it sooner or later…. what are you doing here”  
“Avoiding the twins…” Suna said, “They were annoying…”

“Ah…okay…sure…” Yuki shrugged “Care to go to the vending machine with me.”“Lead the way Hokkyoku…” he muttered and they walked in silence to the vending machine. Yuki got both of them something to drink just to make sure that the tab between them was even…she can always try and went back to the first year’s floor. As they stood in front of the room for class 1-3…Suna’s classroom was two rooms further down the hall Yuki spoke again  
“So…did you really take a picture…I could swear you had just come around the corner…”

Suna looked up from the phone and gave a real grin

“Na…I was lying…I am playing Angry Birds…and there is no way that those pigs would stop me from cracking my high score…”

…  
…  
…

It was almost 11 pm when Yuki stepped out of the train station in Amagasaki. A scarf wrapped around her tightly to preserve some warmth. The train ride from Osaka was so peaceful at this time Yuki had to make sure not to fall asleep. She was tired…no exhausted. Afternoon training had been tense… she wasnt really mentally there most of the time and only thought thatshe had to hurry to get to the station to get the train to Osaka. Then she had to switch trains and then walk a block to get to the Physical Therapy Centre. It took her one and a half hour to get there…at least she could do some of her homework in the way…and then an hour of physical therapy itself was draining…Kagami-san, her physical therapist was great…motivating but that didn’t lessen the gruesome and frustrating exercises and then the same train ride back. As sleep was tugging at her she remembered that she had another bus ride ahead of her and she was almost ready to cry if it wasn’t for the tall guy looming at the exit of the train station.

“Atsumu?” Yuki wondered out loud and was greeted by the blonde Miya, dressed in his tracksuit, scarf and beanie giving her a peace sign.

“Good evening Yu-chan!” he smirked and shifted his weight. 

“What are you doing here?” she wondered looking around if maybe Osamu was here and they had decided to hit the shops late in the night.

“I went out for ….a jog….yeah….and thought that ya maybe arrive at this time…and thought to pick ya up”

He went for a jog near the train station in Amagasaki’s city centre when their neighbourhood was a perfect place to do that…

  
“Sure you did….” Yuki sighed and greeted him her being 5’2 bumping her shoulder into his upper arm instead of the shoulder like she would like have done.

“Got ya some hot chocolate while I was waiting…you must be freezing,” he said and held out a to-go cup from the store nearby, small puffs of smoke steaming from the little space in the lid.

“Thanks, Tsum,” Yuki mumbled and took the cup in her gloved hands, immediately appreciating the warmth.

“Can I take off ya bag?” he asked but at the same time had already reached for it and slung it over his shoulder. The snowflake and fox plushy keychains dangling from the zipper bouncing. Yuki said nothing but she knew that Atsumu got her silent thanks because she didn’t complain or made a snarky comment about how the keychains suited him. Maybe that was the reason he had bought her the hot chocolate to shut her up.

  
They had to wait for the bus a little…at this time they didn’t come often and Yuki again had to think how thankful she was that Atsumu was here and she wasn’t alone. 

“So…mum wasn’t happy that you skipped dinner” Atsumu finally said “She made me bring you a plate…so you don’t have to cook when you get home….and don’t tell me that it’s any trouble and that yer just could have warmed up cup noodles….”

“I didn’t say anything” Yuki sipped her chocolate. She was just thinking it.

“Anyway…met yer dad before he left for work…. he had some of the food as well…so he has eaten too…” and Atsumu knew how much worries and weight he took off Yuki's shoulders with those words. A thing less to worry about. “Thanks…” she mumbled.

Another day had passed where Yuki didn’t see her dad. He had nightshifts and had to leave so early to get to Kobe and in the Morning she always wanted him to sleep in…he worked hard enough. Yuki had devoured the hot chocolate before the bus came and threw the empty cup into the bin before getting into the bus right before Atsumu…they quietly got to the last row and sat down next to each other. Yuki slumping in her seat closing her eyes.Only fifteen more minutes of a bus ride…then a five-minute walk…maybe a quick shower…dinner and the rest of homework…

“You don’t need to come to practice in the morning,” Atsumu said quietly and looked down at her figure. She looked even smaller in this state “Yer day was long enough…”

“If I don’t turn up…who will keep ya guys in check?” Yuki mumbled her eyes still closed so she didn’t see the soft smile he gave her before saying.

“Kita is there…”

“Kita needs support.”

He couldn’t really win that argument, so he let it slide. Yuki shifted her head a little so she was able to lean against Atsumus upper arm, causing the blonde to shift as well so that her head was now on his shoulder. Much more comfortable. She mumbled thanks…which she wasn’t sure Atsumu would hear…he did.

“How was yer therapy?” he said carefully as if he was afraid to scare her away with that…and that he was. This stupid topic usually ended up with her refusing to talk, getting angry and frustrated.

  
“Exhausting!” Yuki simply muttered and leaned in a little closer.

That was something she didn’t have to tell him. He could see the exhaustion in her whole being. Yuki had been like this for a while now…and he didn’t know how to help her…heck she was so exhausted all the time she had let her hair grow out. Not that he minded…it suited Yuki… however she needed to cut her bangs again. Atsumu moved his arm, the one Yuki was not leaning onto and pushed her bangs aside so they’d no longer covered her eyes. Yuki didn’t move…. maybe she had fallen asleep?

“We recently started on weight training…again...” she mumbled after a while proving she was not asleep.

“I’ll tell mum then to put some more protein in your lunches” Atsumu crossed his arms also closing his eyes.

  
“I can make my own lunches!” Yuki mumbles her voices getting more strength getting ready for the next argument.

“Yeah…like you can cook”

“You can’t cook either Tsumu…”

“At least I don’t count buying food at the convenience store as cooking…” he argues “Speakin’ of which…I also brought you the cake I owe you…it’s in yer fridge.”

“Let’s just hope you pass that test” Yuki chuckled and yawned “Wake me up when we’re at our stop?”

  
“Sure thin’”

Fifteen minutes later they were getting off at the bus stop closest to their houses and Atsumu insisted of bringing her to her apartment, even though his house was in the opposite direction.

“Are ye comin’ over on Saturday for dinner…we could also maybe study for the biology test next week.”

“Are ya baitin’ me with food?”

“Say is it wokin’ ?....We also have a kotatsu”

That was a convincing argument. If Tsumu kept up the quality, he could soon enter debate club Yuki thought.

“Okay...“ she agreed “I’ll come over…You’ll help me with geometry and I’ll do biology....I’ve been learning a lot from Kagami-san!”

“Who’s that?” Atsumu wondered not having heard the name before. 

“My physical therapist? .... I did tell you about him?”

“Oh... yeah sure” Atsumu muttered pouting again.

Somehow the mood had shifted…like every time Yuki brought up Kagami-san…every time she brought him up Atsumu pouted and got quiet.

“I can’t walk anymore…” Yuki complained to fill the silence. The silence was usually comforting…but this silence between Atsumu and her was not…it was strangely tugging at her guts…maybe she was hungry.

“Well,” Atsumu grinned “I can always give you a piggyback ride you weight nothing and besides you probably have never seen the world from such a height before.”

„I have a reputation in this neighbourhood Miya” Yuki shook her head and reached for her bags to get her keys but Atsumu already got it covered. He silently brought her to the door of her apartment complex, opened the front door for her and brought her to the apartment door, opening that as well before handing her things over to her

“Thanks for picking me up and for the cake. Write me when you get home...so I don’t worry that you’ll get kidnapped” Yuki joked as she got out of her street shoes and got into the ridiculous fluffy slippers Osamu won for her at a festival that one time.

“Why would I…”

“You have gained quite a fan club” Yuki grinned weakly “Besides at this time someone might think that you might be Sangwoo and call the police”

“Very funny” Atsumu smiled drily and turned around, raising his hand to wave goodbye “....enjoy your dinner and cake...and call me if something is up.”

“Sure, G'night Tsum-Tsum” Yuki said closed the door and quietly whispered “I’m home…” into the silence knowing that there was no one answering welcome back.

Yuki tossed her bag in the living room, went to her room to get a hoodie and some sweatpants to change into and had a quick shower. Then she warmed up dinner and turned on the TV, selecting a random Nature documentary just to have some white noise, grabbed a blanket and ate some tonkatsu while checking the homework she’d done on the train. Her phone buzzed with a text Atsumu he had just returned home after jogging around the neighborhood. She wantied to reply something witty... But decided to send a thumbs up back. When she got up to put the dishes away and get the cake she noticed that the Answering Machine of their phone was blinking that they had two new messages. She pressed the button.

“Good evening Yuki-chan.” the soft honeylike voice of Shizue Miya was heard “I hope you aren’t too exhausted dear. Tsumu-chan went out for a jog…I think he might be picking you up so he’ll tell you yourself. There is food in the fridge and Tsumu-chan said something about cake…don’t eat it before the Tonkatsu…remember to drink enough water and I expect you at dinner on Saturday…no excuses…you may come earlier of course. Sleep well darling…”

Yuki shook her head smiling at Shizue-sans message and sighed and pressed to listen to the next message.

“Hello, Shiryuki-chan my dearest princess why don’t you reply to my messages? I…”  
She noticed that voice instantly and immediately deleted the message. This day had been exhausting enough…she didn’t need to deal with her at this hour.

_____________________________________________________________

I drew a little picture of Yuki from last chapter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry If this chapter made you hungry with all the food mentioned...I was hungry writing it :P
> 
> The thing with the class test happened to a classmate of mine in 6th grade. Same topic in English.  
> In Germany, we have the topic of irregular verbs in year 6 ( usually English starts in Primary school). I don't know how EFL is taught in Japan and just guessed since they start learning English ( from what I've heard) regularly in middle school. If anyone knows more about that please let me know.
> 
> Comments are appreciated. <3


	3. Don’t call us that we don’t know what it means

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Oh god, you two are such imbeciles….” Yuki sighed and the two of them stopped as if they’d just realized that there was another person there. 
> 
> “Oh yeah?” Atsumu said confidently putting his hand on his hips “Don’t call us that we don’t know what it means!”
> 
> “You don’t need to tell her that Tsumu…” Osamu murmured. 
> 
> “It means you two are idiots..” Yuki crossed her arms and glared “All day you two have ben naggin’ all day long.” 
> 
> Domestic fluff? Coming right up!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya.... here's another Chapter. It has a little bit of everything in it and might get slightly angsty at the end...  
> This time with a little bit of flashback action. We can't have childhood friends without looking into their childhood, can we? 
> 
> I've added a little picture I drew the past days to the end of this chapter of the Busride scene. It's been grey and cloudy all day and drawing kept me in a good mood these past days. It also kept me from doing some work but hey...I love procrastination :D Tell me how you like it.

Saturday had been a pretty productive day so far. Yuki woke up early, had time to chat and have breakfast with her father before he went to work, which was a rare occasion with all the nightshifts he had and her school leaving for morning practices so early. They even had time to stock up their fridge together and after her dad left Yuki vacuumed and wiped the apartment and sorted out the laundry that would be done tomorrow. Today she had yet another physical therapy session in Osaka and would be at the Miya’s in the early afternoon right after she came back, so she packed her notebooks, some workout clothes for therapy and slipped into a comfortable hoodie and jeans before slipping into her boots and jacket and left the apartment at 12 sharp.

Kagami-san her physical therapist had been relentless today as well. But Yuki very much appreciated his tough yet encouraging words. He was young barely grazed his thirties and according to the nice lady at the front desk had worked with many athletes. In these past months, she had lost so much time and her body suffered too from not being able to move and exercise as freely as she wanted to. So she not only needed to gain back all that movement in her leg but also all the little muscles overall in her body that didn’t feel like they used to.

It took her some effort to get back into her jeans after the shower she had at the therapy center…why the heck did she choose to wear these skinny jeans again? They were a nuisance to slip into…oh yeah…once over her knee they were quite warm and comfortable. Due to that, she had to wait a little longer for her train back to Amagasaki and therefore was a little late at the Miya’s. Tsumu wouldn’t let her live this down. Every time she was just a little late that pompous grinning face of his declared “Oh well, see Yuki-chan you’re just as human as ourselves bein’ late an all that.” Part of it was her fault really…she had always pestered him about turning up late…even when it was just a few minutes but she was impatient like that.

She rang the bell and shuffled her feet at the front door of the charming little house she had grown so fond of these past years. Yuki remembered gawking at the small backyard they had which had been such a cool thing for her since she had always lived in apartments. Some volleyballs deflated and round laid around and you could clearly see the round dirt mark at the houses’ outside wall where the twins practiced sets.

“There ya are!” Yuki jumped a little since Osamu had opened the door so suddenly “Oh…you brought snacks!” He eyed the shopping bags in your hands “Cake?”

“Yes…and some Mikan”

“Alright…you may enter” he grinned and moved aside to let her in. She quickly slipped out of her shoes and into the guess slippers and Osamu, being the gentlemen he is, took off her jacket, scarf, and hat. She was immediately greeted by a small meow and purring. Mochi the Miya’s Maine-Coon happily pressed his fluffy brown body around her legs. “Mochi-Sama” Yuki smiled widely and crouched down to pet the master of the house behind his ears, which he appreciated.

“How’s ya day been Yu?” Osamu asked casually. “Busy…what about you? I assume pretty relaxing yer guys stayed at home?”

“Na…Kita-san was a sadist again today,” Osamu shrugged and took care of the groceries “We arrived an hour ago ourselves…since mum asked us to get some groceries on our way back”

“Wait there was practice today?” Yuki raised her brow and attempted to check her phone for any missed messages in the volleyball team’s group chat. Mochi complaining because she had stopped petting him. “Don’t need to look…it was pretty short notice and Kita-san kind of didn’t tell you because he knew you were busy today...” Osamu grinned and went to the kitchen to take care of the snacks. Yuki followed him and Mochi followed her with soft pats “You guys didn’t tell me either! Say yer two scrubs forget how to use your phone?”

Osamu just gave her a weak smile and put the Tangerines into a bowl and checked the snacks with great interest, eying the cakes “I think I’ll make some tea with that…”

“Sumu? Why didn’t you guys tell me?” Yuki tapped her foot impatiently and raised her eyebrows.

“ _Because_ we have agreed that on days where you have your therapy sessions you are allowed to skip mornin’ practice remember?” Osamu shook his head “Since this was a late morning practice you skipped…besides you can’t be in two places at the same time.”

“Hmpf….” Yuki crossed her arms and watched Osamu look around the cabinets for the tea leaves.

"Rintaro asked if maybe we want to hang out tomorrow in the city..." Osamu added after a moment of quiet "Do...you have anything planned?"

"My dad has his day off...I wanted to spend the day with him sorry" Yuki said "But I'll wait for the stories. Atsumu always has to document everything so it'll be like I am there..."

"Tsumu is not coming...he'd asked Kita-san today for a special one on one practice" Osamu fidgeted with the tea leaves "So I guess, it's Rintaro and me..."

"Why do you sound so nervous Sumu? Suna can be quite fun. I know we haven't known him for long..." Yuki furrowed her brows watching Osamu twitch a little. Though they were introduced to Suna just this school year and he was in a different class they were quite close in Yuki's opinion.

"I'm not nervous...We've just never done anything together outside of a group...so-oo I guess, "Osamu said now filling in the water, spilling a little outside the kettle. He cursed. A rare thing and wiped away the spilled water.

Another moment of silence before Yuki spoke up " Say where is Tsumu anyway? I mean It’s been five minutes since I’ve been here and it’s suspiciously quiet…”

“Ya noticed…” Osamu slyly grinned from the stove where he put a kettle on.

“I just noticed that nobody tried to pull my hair for a long time” Yuki huffed sat down at the kitchen table and lazily grabbed a tangerine and threw it into the air slightly to catch it. She grinned at Mochi who was eying the ball with big interest, wondering whether to kill or hide from the strange moving orange thing.

“Ya can take these and go to the livin’ room…” Osamu said and pointed towards the bowl of citrus fruit “I’ll come by when the tea is ready.”

“Alright. C’mon Mochi-chan” Yuki shrugged and grabbed the bowl with one hand safely steading it at her hip while continuing throwing the tangerine into the air and back and walking. Too preoccupied with the round fruit she didn’t notice the tall figure standing in the hallway.

“Oi…srub yer here!” She turned around to where the voice came from and saw Atsumu standing there, hair damp from his shower, towel around his neck and shoulders. His...bare shoulders from which some leftover droplets of water run down his...bare chest and upper body.

..No shirt...

…he was wearing no shirt and some thick relaxed shorts.

The tangerine dropped on Yuki's head with a barely hearable thump and rolled away, Mochi chasing after it in fiery pursuit.

Yuki gulped at Atsumu had the audacity to give a little smirk at her expression.

“Woa-Why aren’t ya wearing a shirt” she yelped and felt her ears tingling hot. Damn it what was up with her. It wasn’t like she had never seen the boys shirtless before…heck she grew up with them. Then she realized that it actually had been a while since she had seen Atsumu like this. Whenever the team changed shirts she was always occupied with her notes, especially because Suna had stated that she’d be a creep if she watched them. The little shit. It had been a while and Atsumu had well…matured quite a bit over the last year. All that extra training clearly showed off.

“Ne...Are ya gonna say somethin’ or are ya just gonna keep up starin’” Atsumu smirked with a hand on his hips hands grazing the lower abdominal muscles. Yuki tried not to follow his movement. I didn't really work.

“I wasn’t…I am NOT! Put a shirt on god damn it! You have a guest over!” Yuki finally yelled and turned to get the stray tangerine back from the cat that was pouncing it suspiciously.

“Ya know with the amount of time ya spent here yer hardly a guest Yu,” Atsumu commented and used the towel to further dry his hair.

“Just wear a shirt Tsumu” Osamu carrying a tray with the cakes and tea said, “Nobody wants to see _that_.” His eyes glanced at Yuki and if she would have looked at him she could have seen the twitch of his lips before he continued in a nonchalant tone “Are you going to come or should I eat all this alone?”

Atsumu went off to put on clothes and Osamu and Yuki got settled in the living room. While Yuki got her books out Osamu turned on the Kotatsu. He almost wanted to tease her about not needing the warmth because the blush had yet to leave her face but left it at that. He himself got his things and placed the books on the table, unopened. Food came first. Meanwhile, Yuki had already been reading over her notes (maybe to distract herself) and absentmindedly scooped some cake on her fork. What a disgrace to a perfectly made dessert.

“So we’re actually studyin’?” Atsumu thankfully fully clothed entered the room and crouched down, “I thought we could play Mario Kart or something.”

“Yes! We are studyin' ” Osamu said eating his cake then added nodding down at the kotatsu “Just a warnin’…the cat’s down there...”

“That damn beast stealing my legroom” Atsumu muttered and checked under the thick blanket for the so-called beast that was rolled up next to Yuki's legs.

“Don’t call him that!” Osamu stated a little angrily.

“He hates me!"

“That’s because you keep throwing Volleyballs at him! You do that with me and I hate ya too”

"Back at ya bro!" Tsumu snapped the added“Mochi keeps eating my fatty tuna!”

“Because he is a cat idiot. Don’t leave it out in the open! What’s he supposed to do…give ya a call asking if it’s okay to nibble at it?”

“Guys!” Yuki sighed and looked up “If you want to pass the exam next week you should start studying…we don’t want the same disaster as this week don’t we Tsumu?”

“I passed!” Atsumu complained.

“Barely…” Osamu and Yuki answered simultaneously then snorted and burst out laughing at Atsumu's grimacing expression.

"Okay…shrubs" Yuki took a sip from her tea then continued "how about we do some work for an hour first biology to get this thing over with and then you big ol’ setter genius is going to help with that geometry stuff alright. You’ll feel better because yer can boast that yer actually able to do somethin’ for once and then we can play that Game so Samu n I can put ya in yer place?”

“Yer on pigtails!” Atsumu accepted the declaration of war and the three of them dove into work sipping tea and eating cake and the occasional tangerine.

It didn’t take an hour… a little more since the twins kept on bickering and trying to kick each other under the kotatsu, every time the other had a question or didn’t understand something so by the time they wanted to do geometry Atsumu couldn’t hold his legs still under the comfort of the kotatsu and believed and tried to convince his brother and Yuki that geometry could best be learned by doing. “So take a Volleyball for example…the trajectory is like curve geometry…”

So they ended up setting a ball in a triangle, back and forth instead of actually studying for their test. The living room was actually too small for much movement with the Kotatsu taking up a lot of space but the three still managed to challenge each other by trying to set the ball out of the other’s reach. Osamu and Atsumu were standing opposite to each other and Yuki had remained seated claiming that she could set and receive to them from this angle perfectly but the idiots could never receive hers. All three of them were competitive however not wanting to lose to the others were so focused on the ball that neither heard the lock of the front door click and only realized that Shizue Miya returned home after they heard a clear “Tadaima!”

Shit! The three of them forgot the biggest rule of the Miya household. NO volleyballs in the house. The volleyball set in Atsumus distraction didn’t reach Osamu on the other side…it fell down on the table loudly and knocked over the cold but half-full cup of green tea and spilled its content all over the table.

Shit times two! The three thought and looked at each other.

EXECUTE EMERGENCY PLAN 101B.

“Okairinasai!” the three of them called in unison. Osamu jumped over the Kotatsu to go greet his mother, distract her as long as he could. Atsumu frantically hid the Volleyball in the wall cabinet behind some cushions and leaned against the closed door casually then remembered to go help Yuki who was trying to soak up the tea with a roll of paper towels. Mochi disturbed by all the ruckus hissed and came out from under the kotatsu and patted his way angrily in the hallway his fluffy tail straight up and just the tip swaying with major attitude.

Osamu apparently didn’t have much luck with distracting his mother, as Shizue Miya looked into the living room and her smile faded. She very much had similar features to the twins, although her overall face shape was softer and her eyes were the same color as Atsumus (Osamu had his fathers’). Her deep brown hair tied back in a neat bun.

“Oh, what happened?” she looked at Atsumu who, like a deer in headlights just blinked at his mother.

“I-I accidentally hit Mochi under the Kotatsu!” Yuki said without hesitating and felt Shizue’s gaze, now softer on her “I was so focused on…my notes that I …um got scared and knocked over some stuff…sorry for the inconvenience Shizue-san!”

Osamu gave her the thumbs-up behind his mother’s back. “Oh…dear…I hope you didn’t hurt yourself Yu-chan!”

Shizues eyes softened but got sharp again when she saw Atsumu still patting the table with the wet clump of paper towels “Paper towels are expensive Atsumu…there are some cloth towels in the kitchen drawer…”

“On it…” Atsumu yelped and hurried into the kitchen with one hand, holding the clump the other underneath it to catch loose drops. He quickly returned and gave his mother a kiss on the cheek when he passed her “Okairinasai.” She smiled slightly and came into the living room and sat down next to Yuki who was checking her notes nervously…they were not out of dangerous waters yet. “

You also spilled some tea on yourself, dear…” Shizue said taking Yuki's notebook from her “I’ll dry this for you…how about you go get changed I think there still must be some spare clothes of yours in the guest room….if not call me, alright?”

“Yes….su-sure!” Yuki nodded and wiggled out of the Kotatsu and over to the hallway where Osamu whispered a “Thanks that was close!”

The guest room was on the ground floor down the hall. Yuki knew it by heart since she had almost spent the entire summer there. She turned on the light and looked around at the small, clean, and minimalistic room. It only had a double bed, night side table, and drawer, and the windows faced to the backside of the house so it was rather quiet. She made her way to the drawer and actually found clothing items that belonged to her. A little embarrassed…maybe she should take them home. They filled up space in case Tsumu and Samus grandparents wanted to come but Shizue-san hadn’t had complained so far.

She grabbed some clothes, turned around, and crossed the room to sit on the bed.

Damn …she remembered how long it had taken her to cross the room last summer. She remembered the agony, the sweat, and the tears. She also remembered that one specific night and Atsumus arms holding her tightly as she sobbed…. Taking a deep breath Yuki shook her head and remembered what Kagami-san had told her “Don’t look back. Focus on the next step.”

She pulled off the hoodie and changed into another one smiling at the stitched Squirtle on her chest. She had almost forgotten that she had this thing. It had been her favorite for a long time. Neatly folding the wet hoodie, she saw that there was another thing left in this room. A frame with a photo from almost six years ago from that time at Volleyball Training camp a group photo of all the kids. The twin back then fully dark-haired and short, herself pouting and patched up with band-aids…. Aran-san was there too. Yuki smiled to herself as she remembered

... ... ...

_Shirayuki Hokkyoku was kind of anxious sitting in line with all the boys who also were in their fourth year of elementary school. She didn’t know anyone having moved just recently here to Amagasaki. Some of them had looked at her funny, maybe it was the plaster on her nose from yesterday. She had tried setting a volleyball with too much force so it had hit her in the nose. May they just like the design on her hoodie? Heck, maybe they were wondering why she was wearing a hoodie at all. It was summer and all of the other boys were in gym shorts and a t-shirt._

_She was trying to listen to what their instructor was telling them but the noise of two boys chatting in whispers kept distracting her. The two looked identical. Twins and one of them was complaining about their instructor being a lame setter and setters being lame….boys…all they want to do it spike spike spike! She focused her attention back to the front and glanced at a black fifth-year boy, who had turned around to look at the twins too. Then he turned around again because one of the other instructors had started calling the boys into groups._

_“Hokkyoku Yuki?” he called and she stood up to get to him. He glanced over Yuki and took another look at the clipboard in his hands “Shirayuki?”_

_“Actually it’s Shir **o** yuki…” Yuki lied being only slightly nervous, then adjusted her voice to sound deeper “We just moved here so maybe the papers aren’t complete?” He glanced at her looked her once over and sighed at her determined expression. “Fine…you’re in group 7…if you’d please join them.” _

_Yuki looked around and saw a group of boys already standing around a sign with the number 7 on it and another instructor, the same that was explaining things to them in the beginning waiting. To her luck, she was joined by the annoying twins who were now talking about some boy Aran having a cool sounding name and discussing how to get cool nicknames themselves. Boys were idiots…but at least less whiny than girls._

_“You got something on yer face!” one of the boys said to her grinning and pointing at her nose “Did ya get hit by a ball or somethin’?”_

_“Ts-sumu…be nice” his twin replied and the other totally freaked out yelling “See Samu…these nicknames sound soo cool!” and totally forgot about Yuki standing there._

_“Why don’t you all introduce yourself,” their instructor said “Name, which school you go to, and maybe what position is your favorite!” Yuki hardly paid attention to the other boys and was too nervous to remember any details before it was her turn._

_“My name is Shiro…Shiroyuki ….you can just call me Yuki… it's fine and I just moved here after summer I’ll be going to Yamamoto…and I like to be a libero” she stated proudly when it was her turn, trying to keep her voice as deep as possible, but heard someone …of course, it was the twin called Tsumu…state that liberos were lame._

_“No their not!” Yuki glared at him “My dad used to be a libero in high school and he was amazing…and I’ll be amazing too.” “_

_Okay, okay Yuki-kun” their Instructor chuckled “With hard work and determination you all be very amazing soon.”_

_Boy oh boy, that day was long. They stayed in their group all day and to Yuki's luck, they would be the rest of the week. Those twins already got on her nerves. Especially that Tsumu guy…turns out his name was Atsumu…his brother Osamu seemed a little better but their constant bickering annoyed the hell out of Yuki. Thank goodness their instructor was great. He even let Yuki train some awesome moves specifically for the libero position and praised her for being brave enough to slip over the gym floor. She’ll regret the bruised on her legs later…but right now they were worth it…showing the sissy boys in her group that she was no sissy herself._

_…_

_“Alright everyone we’ll see each other tomorrow…” their Instructor said after they’d cleaned up the gym “Your parents will be waiting outside.”_

_“Thank you !!!!” they all said and bowed and most of the boys rushed outside to meet their parents._

_Yuki however stayed behind, her das would be on his way but he’d told her that he might be late. She still went outside, however, hands in the pockets of her shorts, and looked around seeing other kids leaving._

_“Hey, Yuki-kun!” Atsumu said behind her lazily. Oh god please no…not him…and his annoying brother. “_

_Whaddya want?” Yuki glared at him._

_“That slidin’ thing was cool an all but I still think liberos are lame” he smirked and put his hands in his pockets._

_“Well cool thanks for letting me know…I don’t really care what you think” she murmured and focused on some ants crossing the path._

_“This morning ya said that setters are lame and ya changed yer mind” Osamu commented and the boys started bickering again._

_Soon they were the only three kids left to pick up and the two were still bickering._

_“Oh god, you two are such imbeciles….” Yuki sighed and the two of them stopped as if they’d just realized that there was another person there._

_“Oh yeah?” Atsumu said confidently putting his hand on his hips “Don’t call us that we don’t know what it means!”_

_“You don’t need to tell her that Tsumu…” Osamu murmured._

_“It means you two are idiots..” Yuki crossed her arms and glared “All day you two have ben naggin’ all day long.”_

_“So what?” Atsumu glared and stepped closer his noise raised in the air and Osamu complained as well with a “Hey!” “_

_It’s really annoying…. some people here want to actually learn some volleyball!”_

_“_ _Yes some people do…but you want to be a libero so they don’t play too much do they…all they do is roll around on the floor!”_

_"They do not!” Yuki yelped loudly and bit her lip. Forgetting the lower pitch she was using all day. She sounded too much like a girl in that one. Did they notice? Osamu had furrowed his brows but Atsumu, not crossed his arms grinning now that he believed he finally cracked Yuki's cool demeanor. “I still think they are lame…maybe the lamest position on the team and anyone who likes them is a scrub!”_

_“Yer a Scrub” Yuki yelled and pulled Atsumu’s t-shirt as a reflex he pushed Yuki back so she landed on her behind, the boy's eyes open in shock...”Oh…sorry I didn’t want to-“ But Yuki had already leaped and pushed Atsumu on the ground with the force of her whole body, herself with him._

_“GET OFF! OFF ME!” he yelled “OSAMU !!”_

_“TAKE IT BACK! TAKE IT BACK!” Yuki yelled and tried to keep Atsumu down, he pulled at Yuki's hair and yelled._

_“NEVER! YOU NEED TO DEFEAT ME FIRST! OSAMU HELP???” he avoided a punch from her._

_“Um…I…um” the other twin made a motion with his hand then shuffled his feet and muttered “Pass?”_

_“YOU TRAITOR! UGH,” Atsumu barely escaped Yuki's hands who tried to scratch his face “Yer like a feral cat! Ya need to put down.”_

_"OH YEAH??? MAKE ME!" Yuki yelled_

_Atsumu grabbed her by her shoulder and realized that Yuki was much skinnier under that hoodie and grinned it was too easy. He turned her around and pushed so she lay in the dirt a few steps away. Both of them stood up panting and glaring at each other. During the push. Yuki had scraped open her jaw a little and it was burning, just as the tears in her eyes._

_“Awww” Atsumu taunted “Yer crying like a little girl….”_

_“ATSUMU MIYA!” All three kids jumped as they saw a woman approaching rapidly “What in heavens name!”_

_She glared at the kids, back and forth then looked at her son “This is no way to behave!”_

_“HE started it!” Atsumu complained._

_“Don’t you dare raise your voice at me, young man!” Shizue said coolly then looked at Yuki who was blushing in embarrassment. Shizue thought for a minute then suddenly recognition lit up in her eyes. “Oh…aren’t you that little girl that moved here last week with her father? We met at the grocery store the other day... What was is…Hokkyoku…Shirayuki-chan!”_

_“Yes…ma'am” Yuki stared at her feet._

_“WAIT..... GIRL??” Atsumu yelled and stared at her “YER A GIRL!?”_

_“So?” Yuki glared up at him “Gotta problem?”_

_“This is a camp for boys...But girls can’t…they...can’t” he mumbled and turned around to his brother “See I told you that the scrub had way too pretty eyes for a dude…” He stopped redness crept over his face and mumbled, “and you punch like a girl too…”_

_“And I’ll do it again” Yuki glared then when she saw Shizues face mumbled a “Sorry….”_

_Reminding herself of her manners, she bowed then again declared “I apologize for this inconvenience.”_

_“My… aren’t you a cutie…at least you have the manners to properly apologize,” Shizue said and Atsumu jumped “Osamu, you could have intervened!” At that, the other twin jumped._

_“Sorry….” Atsumu and Osamu both mumbled under the stare of their mother she nodded then turned around to face Yuki again._

_“Oh dearie you sure scraped up your face love!” she taking Yuki's face by her chin and slightly tilting it “That injury on your nose…did my boys did that too?”_

_“MOM!” Atsumu yelled._

_“Noo they didn’t !” Yuki quickly said, “I got hit by a volleyball yesterday…that’s all…and about the scrap…I got a plaster in here somewhere...” She patted her pockets and held out a large square one with an embarrassing cat paw design._

_“We need to clean the wound first...” Shizue stated “There is a faucet there….now we just need”_

_“She can take my handkerchief…” Atsumu mumbled and rummaged around his bag “It’s clean…”_

_“That’s very kind of you Atsumu-chan!” his mother said._

_“I’ll go and get it wet ‘n be right back” Atsumu declared staring at Yuki and ran off while Osamu looked after his brother in astonishment. He crouched down to his bag and grabbed a pack of chips, opened it, and watched the whole procedure with mild interest while chomping on the snack. Atsumu returned with the handkerchief and Shizue patched up Yuki. Who still glared at Atsumu he at least had the decency to look a little ashamed but couldn't hide a smirk._

_“Shirayuki-chan!” Shizue said finally after Yuki was looked after._

_“Just Yuki please!” Yuki interjected. “_

_Yuki-chan” Shizue corrected “Are you still waiting for your father or……mother?”_

_“Um…my dad should be on his way…he’s coming over from work” she stated biting her lip and looking towards the entrance. “_

_Oh…since it’s already getting late…do you mind if we wait here with you until he gets here…maybe we can get to know each other…since we live in the same neighborhood.”_

_“She’ll also go to Yamamoto after the summer break. She’s in the fourth year too” Osamu piped up._

_“Oh, the same year as my boys? That’s great…so you could go to school together in the morning!”_

_“I don’t mind” Yuki mumbled. She really didn’t the move had been scary enough and she’d know two people at her school…. even though they were imbeciles._

_So they waited, Osamu held his bags of chips out for her murmuring something about apologies and that they tasted really good and Atsumu joined them…after receiving another one on one scolding from his mother a few meters away. He grabbed some chips out of the bag Yuki was holding and chewed_

_“Yer know…I haven’t changed my mind about liberos…you have to convince me on that one…but your plaster is cool…I like cats” he stated._

_“Um…thanks…?” Yuki mumbled then smiled at him widely “And don’t worry…I’ll convince you! I’ll be the best libero you have ever seen!” Atsumu stared back at her, blinking and promptly choked on his chips._

_... ... ..._

I’ll convince you. I’ll be the best libero you have ever seen…. The corners of her eyes stung as she remembered that promise and she held her head up to the ceiling, blinking rapidly to make the stinging go away quicker. She heard a quiet knock from the direction of the door, which was slightly open.

“Hey…yer in there? “Atsumu came in grinning “Mum didn’t suspect a thin’ ya really saved our as…are you okay?”

“Yeah Yeah…” Yuki quickly whipped her face with the sleeve of her hoodie.

Atsumu watched her for a few seconds then sat down on the bed next to her in silence for a bit then he chuckled “The Squirtle hoodie…really? I’m surprised you still fit in that thin’….When did you buy that thing….first year of middle school?”

“Yeah…so what it was oversized back then.”

“and is still today….why again Squirtle?”

“Squirtle is the best, yer just jealous because I always defeated your scrub of a Charmander.”

“Don’t get my dear Hotpot into this…”

“Yeah, still can’t believe that you nicknamed it that...” Yuki chuckled and got up, placed the frame back onto the nightstand.

p>

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, how was it? How did you like it?
> 
> Since the weather has been such a horrid affair these past days I myself want to snuggle and chill ...unfortunately I don't have a Kotatsu...
> 
> I originally planned to have this chapter to be a little longer...but scratched it since I thought the ending was perfect after all.
> 
> Comments are very much appreciated <3  
> Stay healthy everyone!
> 
> PS:  
> Did y'all see the latest Episode?? SLIGHT SPOILERS
> 
> : I was cheering so loudly for our loving idiot Tanaka and also crying. Phew that was so emotional


	4. What are baby foxes called anyways?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Inarizaki is on its way to Tokyo.
> 
> Yuki is a little anxious, Atsumu receives gifts from fangirls  
> Suna is surprisingly good at styling hair and is something up with Osamu?  
> And .... What are baby foxes called anyways?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay...wtf...I manage to write 7338 words and therefore decided to split the chapter. You'll get one part today the other....let's say...Friday? Hope y'all enjoy it.
> 
> Thanks to KotoriZoldyckI, Frost_byte212, cityscaping, Demenscous, and Milehaes, and the 3 other guests for leaving kudos.

„Thank you so much once again Isamu-san! “Yuki murmured into her scarf as the car stopped in front of the Inarizaki School gate.

“And as I said once before the pleasure is all mine Yuki-chan “Isamu Miya smiled from the driver’s seat “I wouldn’t want ya taking that luggage on the bus by yerself. I was just glad that the twins reminded me to pick ya up as well…”

He turned around to look at his sons crammed in the backseat of the small car “Take care of Yuki-chan whilst yer in Tokyo, behave yerselves…I put some extra money in yer wallets for emergencies…don’t spend it all...get a nice souvenir for yer mum...` right?”

“Yes, dad “the twins murmured in unison and got out of the car to get their bags from the trunk. Yuki had already gotten out quietly.

It was time. The Inarizaki Volleyball team was leaving for the Spring Interhigh in Tokyo today and all of them were gathering in the school at 7.00 am to be driven to Kobe in a coach. From there they would take the Shinkansen at 8.10 and about 2 hours and forty minutes later would arrive in Tokyo. Isamu Miya had driven the twins and Yuki to school on his way to work which the three of them appreciated and were now waving goodbye to.

The leaving of the Volleyball team to Tokyo was an event itself. Yuki once more realized a large group had gathered to wish the team luck and there were large banners hanging from the windows of the 1st-floor classroom one reading “ **DO YOUR BEST** ” the other boldly stating the team’s motto “ **WE DON’T NEED THINGS LIKE MEMORIES”.**

With a stinging in her chest, Yuki also saw that the girls’ volleyball team was standing there their coach Minami Saito chatting with Aran. The twins surprisingly quiet today…maybe they were focus…or just tired due to packing and looking for their stuff late in the night loaded all their bags in the coach and joined their teammates. Yuki on the other hand went to check with the coaches and Kita to overview the schedule and some other details. They would be arriving in the early afternoon at the Tokyo Station and would take a coach that would be provided for them to their Guest House. After lunch and some free time to unpack they would scout the Arena and the boys would go to a local Gym to train and discuss their rival for the day after. Finally, they would all take a run back to their guest house and retire early for the night. Good sounded like a plan.

“Hokkyoku!” Yuki heard Saito say after she finished talking with the coaches and was walking behind Kita to the rest of the group.

“Go, ahead Kita-san I’ll be right there,” Yuki said to the captain who nodded and continued.

“Saito-san,” Yuki greeted her biting her lip and not really looking into the 2nd year girls’ eyes.

“Glad that yer doing okay…keep an eye out for the boys…I’m sure they will need ya” she smiled “Although I’d prefer it if yer with us…”

“I know…I’m sorry” Yuki murmured.

“Don’t be…ya need time to recover” Saito smiled and patted her shoulder “and besides Aran-kun told me yer doing a decent job keeping the boys in line…anyway…take care of ya!”

“Thanks” Yuki nodded and waved goodbye before joining the boys who all greeted her cheerfully except Suna who just made a comment on how her hair looked like a bird’s nest. He sure was in a good mood…. Yuki was about to say something back when she was interrupted by some squeals and giggles asking for Atsumu and Osamu to come over.

It was the fangirls, of course, all walking around like a bunch of hyenas hysterically laughing as they went to talk to them.

“Can we leave?” Suna muttered in slight disgust after a minute and the others sighed.

“Once Tsumu and Samu are finished receiving gifts” Aran chuckled and the group turned around again to see that the fangirls had collected themselves around the twins, eager to preset small wrapped boxes and small lacy bags.

“I’ll get them” Yuki sighed and made her way to the bunch, dreading the interaction.

She saw that Megumi Higurashi and the three gigglies were part of that group too. She didn’t have an interaction with them again, they were in another class but Suna told her a few days ago that she had approached him to ask for the twins’ number. Which he declined with the comment that he didn’t really like the twins. Megumi was laughing and faking a pout when Yuki approached throwing back her long hair that was bleached at the ends a desperate attempt to match Atsumu’s maybe?

“Anyway…I hope ya accept my gift and think of me Miya-kuns” she winked and gave both of them an obnoxious pink box “Self-made.”

“Thank ya very much” Atsumu smiled at her whilst Osamu nodded politely. Osamu checking what was inside with slight curiosity. Of course, he would…there was food involved.

“We’ll be watching all yer matches all four quarters!” she batted her eyelashes then noticed Yuki coming closer and clicked with her tongue.

“Actually they’re just three…and their called sets,” Yuki said as she approached, she nodded towards the girls and then turned to the twin “Anyways…. guys, I think we should get goin- “

“Oh…it’s ya” Megumi smiled forcefully “Yer on the team too?”

That smiling pig, she knew about Yuki being the manager.

“As the manger…yes…” Yuki equally forcefully smiled back.

Osamu looked up and nodded towards the other girls ready to leave. Atsumu on the other hand seemed amused for some reason.

“Didn’t I see yer last June in the gym practicing with a team?”

“Yeah…that was me- “Yuki sighed and bit the inside of her cheek. She really wanted to end this conversation.

“With the girls’ team right? But they’re not goin’ how come yer?” Megumi snarled.

“Because I’m the manager!” Yuki rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

“So yer just bossin’ around people…jeeez” Megumi grinned and waved her hand around batting away a fly that wasn’t there “Can’t believe I asked my dad to donate some money for the team. I just told Atsumu-kun that I asked him to donate a bunch so that you have save travels and good accommodation and ask all my friends to ask their parent to donate too…If I’d know that some would a nice field trip out that…”

“Yeah…sorry about that” Yuki said still forcefully smiling her eyes squeezed shut.

Don’t kill her…not good for yer resume….

“Tsumu, Samu…. please get this…. procedure (Yuki pointed towards the rest of the girls who were glaring at her for that comment) over with….quickly that is….”

Then she turned around to join the others again minus Kita-san, who was already on the bus with the coaches. Megumi was heard laughing and Atsumu was still there listening to her. Osamu made another gesture to move. The team watched as Megumi clutched a hand on Atsumu's upper arm and squeezed it slightly. Then giggled whispered something in his ear. Atsumu gave her a small smirk, said something which made the pack of Hyenas giggle.

“Yuki-san …. are yer okay?” Akagi asked nudging Yuki's side and looked down at her clutched hands.

“Why shouldn’t I be?” Yuki smiled at him and relaxing her fingers.

“I find her annoyance at this ridiculousness very understandable,” Suna said to no one in particular putting his hands in his pockets and turned to the bus.

“Yuki-san” Akagi chuckled nervously” …. ya are smilin’ but yer eyes are not…it’s kind of scary….”

“I’m alright….” Yuki shook her head “I am not sure about the twin’s though…”

To her slight malicious joy, Kita-san came out of the coach crossed his arms, and coughed twice.

Not extremely loudly but it had the effect. The twins twitched turned around hastily and came back.

Atsumu turned around to say something to Megumi again, who winked at wiggled her fingers.

“Sorry about that” Atsumu grinned at the group who were just staring at them blankly “But at least we got some self-made backed goods for the trip…hey pigtails! Yu-chan! They’re almond biscuit covered with chocolate yer favorite…wanna share them on the ride to Kobe?”

“Say… Suna…care to sit next to each other on the bus and coexist without interacting?” Yuki turned to Suna who looked back at her dead faced.

“I guess…If you insist….” his eyes were smiling though.

“Kay…I dibs the window seat” she swung around and practically hopped into the bus.

The rest of the team minus Kita and the twins chuckled.

The whole group stayed mostly silent on the 30-minute drive to Kobe Station and quickly made their way through the terminal and had good twenty minutes before the train arrived.

“Stay together or if ya want to buy something in groups of three…” Coach Oomi said and Yuki quickly joined the pair of Akagi and Omimi to get something from the bakery before either of the twins could remind her that they had breakfast packed.

“I wouldn’t talk to her until after she has taken a nap” Suna crouched down and yawned behind his hand “she is pretty…upset.”

“Upset?” Atsumu wondered “Ahhh…ya mean that she had to get up so early…”

Or was it the cookies? He had offered them to her….

“Yes…. obviously” Suna rolled his eyed. What an Idiot.

“Rintaro care to get something to snack,” Osamu asked “Tsumu…stop starin’ at people n join us…”

“Pass…” Suna muttered and took out his phone.

“We could get Chuupet from that store over there…” Osamu pointed out.

“Na…Yuki is getting me some already”

“Yuki? Not Hokkyoku?”

“We’re currently allied…so first name bases it is…” Suna said and pressed like on a meme he saw on his Instagram.

“Allied?”

“Yeah…we’re sitting together on the train as well…” Suna said.

“But” Atsumu intervened “The seats are fixed and I thought yer sittin’ next to Akagi?”

“Yuki is currently changing her ticket with him…” Suna muttered and watched eagerly as the three came back and Yuki held out the jelly fruit sticks and a drink “What do I owe ya…?”

“Pay me back in Tokyo…ya have plenty of opportunities…” Yuki grinned then turned to the second-years who’d gone with her smiling “Thanks again Akagi-senpai.”

“Pleasure Yuki-chan…”

Yuki glanced at the twins for a second, before murmuring a “See ya on the train” at Suna and walked past them to join the coaches to ask them something.

What’s going on with her. Atsumu asked himself…first of all…she changed seats…they were supposed to sit together…. then she is ignoring them and suddenly she’s all buddy-buddy with Suna and even Akagi went to –san to –chan in just 30 minutes? Seriously what’s her deal? He angrily got out some of the cookies that Megumi girl gave him…. self-made his ass…they were the store brought ones and self-packed…the same ones Yuki constantly bought…that’s why he’d offered them to her…

  
“She’s been off the whole damn mornin’” Atsumu commented to no one in particular.

She had been…all over it was true that Yuki something had been bothering her the last days…after the Saturday they’d spend together she was kind of weird…stressed out and her minds caught in thoughts…. even in class sometimes…it was worrying and yes he’d noticed the slight shadows forming under her eyes…and that she kept tugging at the hems of her sleeves…the thing she always did whenever she was particularly nervous.

Her eyes who’d always been full of determination…which was the thing that caught his attention at Volleyball camp when they were ten. Yes, he may or may not had mistaken her for a boy…she after all had snuck in with the boys at that particular volleyball camp but nonetheless, her freakin’ eyes had been mesmerizing. The amber-colored orbs, hidden behind thick lashes, were always a little amused…some would say sneering expression if they didn’t know her (true she oftentimes was a know-it-all) but what had impressed him the most was her god damn determination.

Whether had been during matches or their never-ending discussion which Pokémon starter was the best. Duh, it was Charmander…. but Yuki always insisted on Squirtle with those eyes of hers…and well, Osamu was stuck with Bulbasaur…he didn’t mind because it reminded his twin of a nikuman….

Maybe Yuki was on her period again…heaven forbid …. this was a fairly mild reaction or ...was this just the start of the apocalypse?

…maybe he should text his mother and ask what he should do…no…she would scold him.

He sat down in the aisle seat and watches Yuki pass and sit down across, a few seats in front of him, quietly discussing something with Suna. That whole relationship was weird as well… Rintaro who’d Atsumu had met at the beginning of High School had moved to Amagasaki in his last year of middle school…that’s why he didn’t use Kansei-ben like the rest of the bunch and Yuki and the blocker sort of had a hate-acceptance relationship. They tolerated each other, Yuki often claimed that he was the only first year in the team with a brain much to the others’ dismay and Suna didn’t ignore her like most girls in school. Yes…there was this thing about them calling each other by their last names only. Something about not having reached a dramatic and emotional moment or something…weirdos…

Atsumu turned around to talk to his twin sitting behind him, next to Omimi both of them already dozing off. Great now he was stuck with Akagi…not that he minded the guy…but their libero already had his headphones on and was reading a manga behind an economy magazine, so he was left eating his breakfast and hydrating.

He'd stood up a few times to go to the bathroom (actually just once but hey…he was bored) and passed the seats in front of him. The first time Yuki was fast asleep, forehead leaning sideways against the window. The second time she was eating breakfast, a chocolate croissant, checking something on her phone whilst biting her lip, and was sharing earphones with Rintaro so she didn’t notice him. Or did he imagine her glancing at him for a second then continuing to stuff her face with her food. The third time Yuki her back was towards the aisle and she had buried her nose in a book marking stuff, whilst Rintaro was fixing her hair into somewhat of a braided bun.

Seriously…what was up with them? Yes…. he’d heard Suna commenting on her bird-nest hair, Yuki was too lazy to put in into braids this morning and he had even noticed…not commented of course how nice it looked. She hadn’t had long hair ever (longer than her shoulders at least) …. since he’d know her…that’s why Atsumu was always tempted to pull her braids…. but she let Rintaro touch it? And why was the dude so good at this? And why the heck did that bother him…? The touching…not that he was good at it…

On his ways back she was standing in the aisle and was talking to Aran and Kita in the seats behind of hers. Sunarin's head was peeking out from the space between their seats and Gin and Yuto who were sitting on the other side of the aisle from Kita and Aran were listening as well.

“So I’ve been doin’ some research…” Yuki said “The first team we’re up against tomorrow is from Tsubakihara Academy from Kanagawa …. there isn’t much known about `em…it’s their first time at Nationals but…they won in their prefecture finals in two sets 25:17 and 27:25.”

She paused to check the score written in her notes again the continued: “their receives and strikes are pretty decent…although ours are miles better…um…anyway…it seems that they lack nerves…at the end of the second set they would have almost lost the finale… if it hadn’t been for their wing spiker Motoki Teradomari.(She once again checked her notes) However, I think if we intimidate them quickly in the first set we’ll have a good chance to win the game early…it’s their first time at nationals after all.”

“Gee Yu-chan!” Atsumu said shamelessly putting an arm around her shoulders and leaning over her shoulder to see her notes on their opponent. His chest pressed against her back and considered just for a moment to let his chin rest on the top of her hair. She was so tiny “Way harsh! It’s their first time at Nationals…let ‘em have a little fun...”

Yuki picked up his hand with two fingers of hers and flicked it away like an insect and continued. “Anyway…I know that we only played in the final of the preliminaries in this constellation but overall our strikes are better coordinated…so we can trick and unsettle `em…”

“Like the bunch of sly baby foxes we are” Atsumu grinned around at his teammates “What are baby foxes called anyways? Babies?”

“Foxes are canines….” Suna nonchalantly muttered “I guess…. pups…?”

“Which makes us…puppies?”

Yuki and Kita both closed their eyes. Silently praying for brains to fall from heaven above.

“Don’t call us that” Suna glanced at him dead faced.

“Ya can also call them cubs” Yuto across from his seat stated.

“Cubbies?” Atsumu asked and looked around for approval.

“Even worse!” Aran grinned “Sounds like we are some kindergarten furniture...”

“You can call young foxes kits too” Suna murmured checking it on his phone.

“Kids?” Gin asked.

“No ki **t** s with a **t** you… dumbass!”

“Nee… Yuki-chan…if we are kits…does it make ya our kitten?” Atsumu smirked and looked down on top of the brunette’s hair.

She didn’t move at first then turned around and jammed her elbow into his side between his ribs.

Atsumu yelped out in pain, eyes tearing up “FUCK YUKI! What was that for?”

Yuki turned back to Kita and smiled “That was all…I’ve already spoken to the coaches…they would like to talk strategy after dinner with you and Aran-san over some tea…alright?”

“Right, thank you…” their Captain nodded and glanced (as all of the others were) at Atsumu who still crouched slowly regained his composure.

“Rintaro…move!” Yuki commanded and swiftly passed the blonde twin, still breathing heavily rubbing his side and slid behind Suna into her window seat.

“Shirayuki…you’re as ice-cold as that name of yours!” Rintaro grinned and offered her his earphones again, which she took with a satisfied nod, propped her chin on her palm turned to look out the window.

Atsumu just glared at his childhood friend…damn that had hurt…he went back to his seat still rubbing his side in circles. Gosh…women….

“What was that about? Why were yer cursin` at Yu? Be a little quieter…it’s rude…we’re on a train” Osamu asked then looked at Atsumu still rubbing his side “Colon problems?”

“Shut yer trap!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope y'all enjoyed it.  
> I have been tutoring a high school class in English this week. Kids here have a two-week autumn holiday and the place where I work part-time offers 5-day long ( 3hours a day) tuition EFL courses.  
> This time around I got a mix of 10/11th grade and well...while they were working on their assignments (writing essays and stuff) I was able to write a little myself. It was kind of like a coffee-house atmosphere...only without the coffee and the music :P
> 
> It would be really nice if you'd leave a comment and say hi.


	5. Not that I particularly care…but it’s the question on everyone’s mind right?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tokyo is overwhelming, the team is being protective and Yuki gets a surprise visitor she'd not that happy about...
> 
> oh, there is also a bathhouse scene 😏

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I know...I said I'm going to upload it on Friday....well I did it anyway since it's already finished.  
> Lol

Tokyo was overwhelming…the noise the number of people, the smog, and that noise. Yuki thought as she pulled up her mask and huddled a little closer to the guys on the Volleyball team. If ya get lost…. yer screwed. You’d probably end up in a ditch somewhere being eaten by rodents…She had almost considered holding on to Atsumus jacket sleeve or Osamus…but the two had been such jerks this mornin’…maybe she was exaggerated but something about that Megumi girl had triggered her. Fair enough, she seemed like a decent girl in looks, tall…womanly but Yuki just couldn’t stand her attitude. The hair flipping, the eyelash batting it reminded her so much of her own mother…Yeah there it was the other thing that kept coming up in her mind. Her mum yet again had left messages on their home phone.

Maybe she was a little unfair towards the twins…they really weren’t at fault for the stuff with her mother…

“Yuki-chan are ya okay?” Oomimi who had joined her at the end of the group murmured “You seem a little bit distraught?”

“Yeah…Tokyo is just…” she looked around lost for words.

His eyes were soft, and she could see them crinkling with delight “Yeah…I get it…I can offer that you take my arm if you don’t mind”

“Thanks…I’d appreciate it...” Yuki nodded and fiddled with her bag.

Akagi who’d apparently listened, turned around and grabbed it from her and shouldered it on his other side, claiming that It would balance him out. Yuki felt strangely touched by the gesture and silently followed the group towards where the coach was already waiting for them. They got on it, the rest of the group eagerly chatting in a good mood to finally be here in Tokyo but Yuki, the more she saw of the city got anxious and it did not let off until she was in their guesthouse in the room she had on her own.

Get a grip! Yuki muttered to herself as she flopped onto the bed, closing her eyes. You are the manager, you need to keep a cool head and manage things. So Yuki grabbed her phone and logged on onto the Inarizaki Boys Volleyball Teams Instagram account and started to upload the pictures she’d taken through the journey into their story.

A picture of the banners. Thanking the school for their support. A short video of the Shinkansen arriving. Another picture she’d taken right before they exited the train captioned Tokyo here we are. Then looked over the comments on their last post. A picture from training. Alright…that’s done…maybe she could take a nap? There was lunch of course…but Yuki really didn’t feel like meeting people…then she remembered the breakfast bento she had originally packed from home. So she could just eat that in her room, unpack and take a nap. She quickly wrote a message telling the rest of the team exactly that, ate lunch just grabbed some pajamas from her bag then set an alarm for 90 minutes, and dozed off.

...

“Nice kill!” Atsumu grinned at his brother and waited for a high five.

They had been training three on three matched for over an hour now at a small gym close to the arena.

“Good job, Miyas” Coach Oomi nodded in approval “Hokkyoku, please note down that Atsumu has to keep it safe and not try anything funky during the first match. Clean and easy…that’s the best way to intimidate our opponents…All right? Gather!”

“Yes sir!” Yuki nodded and scribbled it on the table in her notes, then hurried to hand out towels and water to the boys, who were now slowly coming together.

“We need to clean up here…and then y’all be on our way back to the guest house…since we are running back there is no need to take a shower, ya can have a bath afterward…just make sure yer not covered in sweat and get a cold, keep warm ‘right? I’ll meet ya at the front door in 10. We’ll discuss tomorrow’s match after dinner!”

“Yes, sir!” the boys said in unison and scattered to clean up, dumping their towels neatly on a pile on the floor. Thanks…Yuki thought as she had to stuff the used smelling towels into one of their bags for laundry and tried not to breathe whilst doing that. Then she collected the stray water bottles, packed up her own things and joined Osamu who was rolling up one of the nets.

“So yer talking to me again?” he stated after she offered to help “Been awfully quiet today…”

“Yes, I am talking to ya” Yuki mumbled “I didn’t intend to ignore you…it just…kinda happened…I was…there was just…nevermind”

“Yer know that yer can to us whenever something’s botherin’ ya?” Osamu glanced her way “Yeah we’ve noticed….”

And Suna kind of mentioned it to them over lunch. He thought and Yuki didn’t answer immediately proving that there was something on her mind she opened her mouth just to be interrupted by Atsumu

“Oi Yuki…can ya help me too?” he had somehow managed to tangle the net and Yuki quickly rushed over to prevent more damage from happening. There was a reason he was always on post and ball duty.

Shaking her head, she stated, “How can it be this tangled already Tsum, yer been at it what maybe 30 seconds?”

“Are yer okay Yu?” Atsumu asked, “You were talking to Samu…but yer haven’t talked to me all day…”

“mkay” Yuki mumbled “Just tired…. sorry about all that”

“Also about hitting me?”

...

“Na…you deserved that” she grinned and grabbed the rolled-up net to carry it into the supply room, where she met Suna who commented

“Are we talking to the twins again?”

“I was “

“Duh…but are _we_ talking to them?” Suna rolled his eyes “Dang…if you’re talking to them I don’t have a solid reason not to anymore…I had been so at peace for solid 9 hours…” Suna yawned and Yuki chuckled.

Most of the team had already gathered outside, quick and efficient they were under the stern leadership of Kita all of them used their talent to get the clean up over with. The Coaches had taken the liberty to take the towel and water bag on the bus.

Yuki sat down on the stairs, slipped out of her indoor gym shoes and opened her small backpack and exchanged them with her outdoor ones, she also fished her knee brace out of it and rolled up the leg of her tracksuit pants to put it on.

“Why yer wearin’ that?” Atsumu, also changing his shoes next to her glanced over.

“Do support my knee?”

“Yu yer comin’ with us?” Atsumu face lit up into a grin “Yer really runnin’ with us? HEAR HEAR Everyone! Yu-chan is joinin’ us!!”

“You are?” Osamu glanced down as well “Cool!”

“Are you really sure about this Yuki-chan?” Akagi asked in a calm voice but was grinning too.

“Yes, I’ve been cleared to start running…if I don’t overdo it I should be fine…” Yuki smiled at him “If you don’t mind me following you at the back.”

“Don’t worry Yuki” Oomimi smiled and ruffled her hair a little “We’ll make sure that we don’t overdo it.”

“Don’t mess us my masterpiece!” Suna said loudly then added “Respectfully, Oomimi-senpai…” he then fixed Yuki's bun that had come a little loose.

“You could always take the bus with the coaches,” Atsumu said quietly but Yuki laughed

“and be bored to death? Then I’d be bored again at the guest house and just wait for all ya knights in maroon tracksuits to come and save me from boredom?”

“Knights in marron tracksuit?” Suna grinned “Sounds epic…”

Fuck…maybe it was not the best idea to start up jogging again in the middle of winter when it was dark outside. Her lungs were burning and she was sweating and yes…she felt the muscles in her legs…her not hurting much …but stinging a little. She noticed that the boys were jogging slower than usual and would have smiled if it wasn’t for the grim and focused expression she always had while exercising. The cold air was whipping in her face, that was flushed a little from the temperature and from the execution of movements. But…it felt good. The burning of her muscles, the rising and falling of her chest the small puffs of air coming out of her mouth, the adrenaline…the endorphins. It had been a long time but she felt alive and free again.

They jogged alongside the Yoyogi Park, Kita scouting it out in order to visit the temple in the early morning for good luck and 30 minutes later arrived huffing and puffing at the hotel, stretching in a circle. Laughing and joking and just overall feeling refreshed.

Their guest house had a bathhouse and some of the team members talking about hitting it right after. Yuki leaned on the guesthouse wall, stretching herself, and was happy that running had cleared her thoughts and put her in a happy mood. She was about to say something witty to the twins when she heard the voice.

“There you are! **SHIRAYUKI-CHAN**!” A shrill, forced sweet and girly voice.

That dreaded voice. Oh…no…why now…? Yuki whipped around, the movement not unnoticed by her teammates …okay maybe also because that certain someone had freaking shouted her name for all Shibuya to hear.

Wide-eyed and still out of breath Yuki saw her mother Natsuko approaching from down the street waving at her and much to her dismay her boyfriend (scratch that Yuki's stepfather Masaru Ito behind her).

She tensed as her mother, dressed in a light pink coat and heeled brown boots, came to a stop in front of her, put her hands on her hips, and pouted “Shirayuki-chan you have not replied to my calls and messages or anything…why do I have to find out from Hokkyoku-san that you are in Tokyo? Nobody tells me anything!”

Yuki noticed three things, her mother had grown out her hair even longer, it reached her elbows and she was wearing very rosy…very youthful makeup, lip gloss and she’d dyed her hair to have light highlights…. if she really looked at it she lightened her hair and had further highlighted it. She was pouting, kind of like a child, and was using Tokyo-ben. She also referred to Yuki's dad, her ex-husband as Hokkyoku-san.

“I was a little busy,” Yuki said after her mother had blinked at her in expectancy. She then nodded towards Masaru Ito “Ito-san.”  
  


“Shirayuki” he nodded back glancing at the group behind her slightly interested.

“Moe…. Masaru-kun I told you she’d be running around looking like she just survived a tornado” Natsuko slug her arms around Masarus and pressed herself tightly at him “Shirayuki-chan we were wondering…since you are here how about we go out for dinner?”

“I can’t mother…I am busy!” Yuki said pointing over her shoulder towards the team that was silently watching this interaction. Atsumu and Osamu were tense, if she’d have turned around Yuki would have seen the glare in their eyes, Suna was deadpanned…but he was always like that and Kita-san had crossed his arms.

“You never make time for me Shira-chan” her mother pouted “I would like to take out to lunch or dinner tomorrow but I am very busy helping Masaru-kun with his work and I’m working and the rest of the time I am meeting my friends…so today is the only chance for us girls to catch up.”

“Mother I”

“YUUKIIII” she whined and Yuki closed her eyes “Alright, Alright…dinner it is…but I have a curfew…. right?”

She turned towards the boys and Kita spoke up calmly stating

“She does actually…so we’d appreciate if she’d be returned to us safely in due time…. Hokkyoku-san!”

"Oh, I’m actually Ito-san” Natsuko smiled and wiggled her left hands to show off her ring “Six years going strong…but don’t think I’m that old…I mean I am very young!”

Yeah…you only have a fifteen-year-old daughter. Yuki thought then said, “Give me five minutes…I’ll go up and change…then I’ll join you.”

“‘Kay…don’t make us wait my snow princess!”

Yuki tried not to grit her teeth as she went inside following the boys.

“Yer don’t have to go if yer ain’t want to” Atsumu immediately said one they’d entered the lobby “Do you need me to go with ya?”

“Thanks but no…I can handle her on my own…not for long and in bits and pieces…but I can handle her” Yuki sighed then turned to Kita “Thanks for helping me out with the curfew excuse Kita-san.”

They had a curfew…but not this early.

He nodded “Let me walk you up to yer room…boys get changed and down for dinner okay? Aran…can you let the Coaches know?”

“Sure thin’ Shinsuke” Aran nodded then patted Atsumu on his back hard to make him start moving.

Kita had joined Yuki in silence and waited outside the door to her room. She did a quick wash with a towel, got changed, tied her hair up in a ponytail (a shame Suna’s braided bun didn’t survive the run) put some deodorant on, took her jacket and scarf, and went outside.

Kita was leaning against the wall and pushed off it.

“Yuki-san,” he said calmly “I’d like for ya to share yer GPS coordinates with me…just in case and I’d like for ya to call me if anything happens or yer feel uncomfortable”

“Kita-san thank you but there is no nee-“

“I insist” he said with the same stern look he silently scolded the twins with.

“Yes…” the first year succumbed and quickly activated and send him the coordinates.

“Take care…” he said in the lobby and nodded at Ito and Natsuko whom they could see standing outside.

“You’ve grown out your hair” Natsuki greeted her daughter by clutching her arm and tugging her along “It looks so nice…and who was that boy…is he your boyfriend?”

“Mother!” Yuki indignantly glared at her “He’s our team captain…”

“Going for the captain….uhhhh” she made a duckface.

“No, mother” Yuki sighed …. this could be a long evening.

“I should have gone with her,” Atsumu grumbled sinking into the large steaming bath, sighing as his tense muscles immediately relaxed.

“Yeah, kind of regrettin’ that too…” Osamu muttered put his head underwater for a second then came up again and with his mouth still underwater blew bubbles and eyed Suna who had just gotten into the bath.

“What’s the deal with her and her mother?” the green-eyed blocker asked, “Not that I particularly care…but it’s the question on everyone’s mind right?”

He looked at Yuto, Gin, and Akagi who all nodded. Oomimi, Kita, and Aran stayed silent.

“Her parents are divorced,” Osamu said coming to the surface.

  
“Yes, I got that alright…thank you very much” Suna rolled his eyes and leaned back to prop the back of his upper arms onto the tiles and hived himself a little out of the water, stretching himself long.

“I am getting’ there” Osamu snarled looking at Suna his cheeks a little rosy.

Suna huffed, relaxed his body, then tilted his head forward again and rose an eyebrow to tell him to continue.

Osamu didn’t...he looked at Suna with hesitation and wanted to retort something but Atsumu quickly interrupted him

“They lived in Kobe and divorced when Yuki was eight, her mother apparently was dissatisfied with her life there and wanted to pursue a carrier to be on television. Hisashi-san, her dad couldn’t provide the life his wife wanted, the clothes and dresses and she didn’t want to work her desk job anymore. So she left to go to Tokyo…there she met this other guy…probably the same one we saw today and finalized the divorce and kind of stayed there. Hisashi tried to afford their apartment in Kobe but couldn’t so they moved to Amagasaki when we were in fourth grade.” Atsumu said a little annoyed “She never really talks about her mother…actually she rarely talks to her…since her mum is very…feminine and that was never really Yuki’s type of juice…her head always busy with playing Volleyball like her father (Atsumu smiled at that). So… yer all fine with that or should I tell y’all more private information about a person without her being present”

His smile had faded and he glared at the group. Some of them looked a little ashamed and said nothing.

Suna however, stopped looking at Osamu and turned his head at the blonde twin.

“So she just like that she limited contact with her daughter?” he asked quietly.

“She used to come over from time to time…” Atsumu said “On her birthday…on new year’s…but never alone always with some female friends and that Ito guy…she wanted Yuki to move to Tokyo, which she refused plenty of times…and somehow once Natsuko got a job at a TV station her visits became rarer and then she just called…”

The truth was when Natsuko had come over the last time she had yelled at Yuki hysterically when the three of them had turned up home from Volleyball practice in middle school, her having bruises all over her body, fingers taped and hair ruffled. Of her hating this sport and that Yuki should stop playing it, it being silly and stupid and her father having manipulated her darling little princess.

She had continued yelling that she’d always wanted a daintily little girl, who wore dresses and enjoyed the same things as her. What was the use of having a daughter if she didn’t behave like one…

Natsuko had never apologized to Yuki from what she told them and the next time her mother called she had pretended that nothing bad had happened. From then on Yuki had started to ignore the calls more and more.

The boys went to dinner very silent due to the twins' down mood. When something buzzed

“Shinsuke,” Omimi said the silence that was hanging over them like the thick heavy steam from the bathhouse had followed them, “I think that’s your phone…”

Kita who had finished his dinner rather quickly and was drinking tea glanced at his phone and said “That is my grandmother…I’ll go and call her back…go on to talk with the coaches Aran…you’ll be on the court anyway…so I’ll join you after”

The co-captain of Inarizaki nodded and Kita grabbed his jacket and left, typing.

_Stay where you are. I’ll be right there._

If Yuki had thought it would be bad going out to dinner with her mother in Tokyo…she was wrong…it was worse than she had thought. Ito had tried to keep up some conversation but Yuki mostly answered his questions with short answers. She didn’t really know him that well after all. They had gotten married, but Yuki wasn't invited and had been sad about it. Back then her mother had claimed that it was all last minute...but when she was a little older she realized that there was no way that the wedding, a grand event with 100 people could have been so last-minute she could not have invited her. She had either forgotten or...Natsuko didn't want any of the guests to know about Yuki.

Her mother…oh well she kept talking and didn’t really let anyone else have a word. She kept babbling about her job, her friends, her hairdresser, and make-up artist, and that one lady who had the audacity to ruin her nails one time she went to a cheaper salon. Then she had commented on Yuki's own, short kept nails (called them boring) and praised her hands for not having as many calluses like she used to. She then said that her accident was the best thing for her to happen since she had stopped playing Volleyball and taken care of her hair. “You even tried to style it in a braided bun,” she had said” so cute.”

Ito had asked her what exactly she was doing here in Tokyo with the boys if she wasn’t playing anymore. He wasn’t really being rude…he just didn’t know much about Yuki and she doubted that her mother kept him up to date with his step-daughter’s life. She told them that she was the manager for Inarizaki and realized the pride that swung in her tone. After seeing today's practice she was once again sure that this team would make it far. She smiled at her Noodles. Kitsune udon with fried tofu…just like the foxes in the myth liked them. Ever since she joined Inarizaki Boys’ it was somehow an inside joke in the team that they all went out for kitsune udon together to appease the fox goddesses after and before big tournaments. In fact, she’d eaten the same dish yesterday in Amagasaki after their last practice.

“Well…I am glad that you are no longer a player, “her mother said checking her make-up in a handheld mirror. Natsuko had barely touched her wakame salad “but how about you look for another club, music, arts maybe drama…you could be great in that…you have the temper after all…and I hope you inherited my stage presence!”

“Actually,” Yuki said and slurped her noodles then chewed “I’m pretty fine where I am…I get to help the boys a lot. We’re a good team and I’m sure that we can get super far this tournament…heck even win it! and I’ll do my best to help so they can achieve that.”

Natsuko stopped and stared at her daughter, then she clicked her tongue and laughed “So…you’re telling me that you’d rather help others achieve their dreams than follow your own? Silly girl!”  
  


“Yes,” Yuki stated coldly but felt the fury rising in her chest “Their dreams are my dreams now and yes I may have lost a little time not being able to play…that doesn’t mean I have to give up on mine entirely just yet…and heck if it doesn’t work out…I’ll see my boys succeed. Just because I have an ambition it does not mean that I’ll leave everyone I care about behind…. _mother_.”

She hadn’t planned to add that last word, maybe it was the fury that had finally come out. The anger that had been inside her for all that time…it didn’t matter. It had an immediate effect. Natsuko blinked and Ito shifted in his seat a little, glancing at his wife.

Yuki on the other hand picked up a piece of fried tofu with her chopsticks and ate it whilst looking at her mother.

Natsuko blinked again, something in her eyes flashed but she forcefully pressed her glossed lips together so they were a thin line “Oh…dear…oh dear!” she then said rapidly “Look at the time…I totally forgot that I have to get to bed early, I have an appointment and need to get my beauty sleep. I like so totally forgot. Shirayuki we have to go…I’m sure you’ll be fine from here right? It’s not that far anyway and your guest house is in Shibuya as well so…Masaru-kun…could you please pay I’ll freshen up in the ladies and join you at the front. Good luck with the tournament Princess.”

She said not looking at her daughter and rushed away.

Ito the spineless fool gulped down the rest of his drink, looked as if he’d like something to say but didn’t and asked for the check then got up, looked at Yuki again, and nodded goodbye. So much for him. Yuki sighed eating the rest of her noodles…he’d at least paid for her meal too…. She’d give him that.

What to do now…yes she could just go back to the guest house...ask for directions but this way Shibuya at nighttime..what if she got lost…Kita-san had told her to give him a call if something happened but he should be concentrating on tomorrow. Maybe she’d call the twins…but no…they’d ask questions and she was not in the mood for that, sighing she dialed Kitas-number it rang…and went to mailbox…then she got a message

_Stay where you are. I’ll be right there._

Kita was there in ten minutes and had scolded her a little (in the typical Kita way strict but not yelling) about that she should have waited for him inside. Besides that, he didn’t say much, which Yuki was very thankful for.

“I’m sorry that I bothered ya Kita-san,” she said to ease the silence whilst they were walking. It was not uncomfortable, Kita-sans presence always calmed her down but she felt the need to say this.

“Yer not botherin' me Yuki-san” he stated and glanced at her then spoke up again “Yer ‘ve been supporting our team very much these last month…even though yer probably stressed enough with yer recovery and keeping up yer grades…giving back is the least I can do…after all, I’m the captain and yer an essential part of the team.”

Yuki felt herself blush a little and stared at her fingers. She wasn't used to being praised like that and kind of had the feeling that Kita kind of had an intuition what had just occurred between her and her mother and knew she needed a little bit of cheering up.

“I hope you had time to have dinner?” she asked him and he nodded.

“Yes, I was just having tea…I didn’t finish it…so I think I’ll ask for another when we talk tactic with the coaches…since yer joining us…would you like one as well?”

“Yeah…thank you” she nodded. Shit, she’d almost forgotten the meeting.

“I’ll text Aran to prepare it for us…I have already texted him on my way to you that he should send the rest of the boys to bed…maybe ya should write in the group chat once we’ve arrived.”

“So that the baby foxes can get to sleep?” Yuki chuckled.

“Yes,” Kita said and showed a rare soft smile “So that the kits can sleep.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, isn't Natsuko a lovely character?


	6. Are yer carrin’ the flag so you don’t get lost in the crowd?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Suna likes princess tea parties and Yuki screams at the twins, bickering on the bus.
> 
> Oh and the opening ceremony is making her emotional

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for over 300+ hits <3

_„Stop fidgeting with yer uniform Yuki-chan,“ Atsumu rolled his eyes at his childhood friend. “Yer gonna mess it up…”_

_Every damn time he glanced at her (and Atsumu kind of had to admit he did it a lot today), she was trying to fix nonexistent errors in her wardrobe. This whole uniform…looked cute on her…Atsumu had to admit, a little bit more…. grown-up._ Something had changed in Yuki in their last year of middle school...it wasn't like the was any taller or changed her hair dramatically....maybe it was that damn uniform she wore the first time today. Surprisingly fitting in places the middle school sailor style was very loose. 

_“Damn…. I hate skirts!” Yuki muttered under her breath, probably thinking, thank goodness it wasn’t warm enough to run around without tights. “Ya don’t look much better Tsumu…yer tie is loose…it’s our first day do you really wanna make a bad impression.”_

_She snapped…because of course, she’d._

_“It’s for the teacher so they can distinguish Samu n me…he’s the proper twin I got style” Atsumu grinned and puffed out his chest. Finally, wearing the Inarizaki uniform made him feel hella fine._

_“Yeah, right, style my ass,” Osamu muttered and looked over the crowd of first years huddled around the noticing board where the class lists were hanging. His twin, much to Atsumus dismay, also looked quite dapper in his Blazer, the grey uniform sweater matching his eyes._

_“I hafta say,” Atsumu ignored his twin for once looked around. “I’m kinda really diggin’ the uniform…I like it much better than the traditional black one in middle school…black, white grey and maroon….so cool!”_  
_“The volleyball uniforms are black and white too…and the tracksuits are maroon…” Osamu said, his eyes scanning the list for their names._

_“Not for us…” Yuki stated, “The girls have maroon shorts, black shirts, and black tracksuits…well for me it’ll be the opposite black shirt maroon top.”_

_“That only If you make the team,” Atsumu grinned and received a small punch in his upper arm._

_“Yeah, right, I’m gonna make the team before your sorry ass” Yuki blew a raspberry at him._  
_“Ya bet?” he grinned only to tease her. She’d stopped fidgeting after all and covered her mouth with her hand, thinking._  
_“Sure, how about you buy me a chocolate cake for the next four weeks, and if I lose, I’ll do your English homework for ya for the same time?”_

_“Deal”_

_“Jackpot!” Osamu exclaimed and turned around, “We’re in the same Class 1-3!”_

_“Sweet! Then let’s go inside and save a spot at the window!”_

_It was April, and their first day at Inarizaki High School. Great things lay ahead. Yuki felt that in her Bones. High School, especially this first year, would be the start of something, and the best thing of all…volleyball tryouts was today. Atsumu tried to concentrate as much as she could on what instructions her new teachers gave, their names, and the names of her classmates, but that information would have all been flurry in his head. He’d probably don’t remember a thing if Yuki, being the know-it-all she was, didn’t write it down for the three of them to recall on a later dare. All three of them had most of their focus on tryouts._

_Atsumu noticed the curious glances Osamu and he received on their first day. Being twins and heck yeah good-looking, athletic, and grown several inches in the last year, and frankly, their middle school had won the tournament this spring. He and Yuki both received awards, best setter, and best libero. He also got an award for being captain. Inarizaki, being a Volleyball powerhouse loving school, knew this, of course, and had invited the Miyas to the special Inarizaki group volleyball camp before school started._

_Yuki had a polite but distant conversation with some of her female classmates, and to her dismay (at this point, it was obvious that Yuki had enough of it already) were asked about the twins. Atsumu chuckled as he thought of what Yuki would answer, maybe something like_

_“Atsumu is more of an idiotic extrovert and Samu the introvert…but do not mistake Osamus silence for calmness. He’s just as big of a little shit his brother is.”_

_She probably thought that, but she ended up telling them about the way the twins parted their hair in such a sarcastic manner and pretty loud that even some of the boys in their class had turned around and laughed at her expression._

_After class clean up, Yuki excused herself to go to the girls’ tryouts in Gym two whilst Atsumu and Osamu went to Gym one and got changed and met Yoshio Wakawayashi, their third-year captain and three other first years. Rintaro Suna, Yuto Kosaku, and Hitoshi Ginjima were all introduced to the rest of the team, consisting mainly of second years. Aran Ojiro, one of them, greeted them with a wide grinned and greeted the twins in recognition from the camp._  
_Others joined the tryout, and the coached Oomi and Kurosu came and greeted them._

_Tryouts were easy…too easy…but Atsumu thought that maybe it was because they were that damn good. They practiced drills and had a short three on three matches. In the end, there were five new first-year recruits…the others, not passing and leaving the gym disgruntled._

_“Keep warm first years,” Wakawayashi said. “We’ll have a little practice match with the girls’ team in like five minutes…. Aran will be joining you as well as Akagi…” He pointed towards their libero, showing the first years a peace sign._

_“Guess we made it!” Suna said no emotion whatsoever in his voice, his expression deadpanned._  
_“Yer not from here!” Atsumu immediately noticing his dialect. I mean, the guy had finally spoken more than two words in a row._

_“Idiot…be more polite!” Osamu reprimanded him and smacked his shoulder._

_“I didn’t fucking curse at him or anything!” Atsumu complained turning around to do the same to his twin._

_“Yeah, luckily, but it’s only a damn matter of time with you …”_

_“If yer so concerned with timing, get yer spikes in order.”_  
Atsumu crossed his arms _“If yer could set better, I would”_

_“MY SETS ARE MAGNIFICENT!”_

_“Please don’t use words you can’t even spell…”_

_“M-A-C-K-N-E…. STOP LAUGHING OR I’LL PUNCH YA!”_

_“DO IT THEN!”_ Osamu held his hands up in provocative guesture. 

_“DON’T MAKE ME SUMU!”_

_At that moment, Atsumu felt a sudden pain in the back of his head as it was forcefully tipped forward so that his chin hit his chest..._

_WHO THE HECK HAD THROWN A FUCKING VOLLEYBALL AT THE BACK OF HIS HEAD!_

_He whipped his still pounding head around and yelled, “WHAT WAS THAT FOR?? WHOO???”_

_There she was standing cross-armed but slight amusement dancing in her eyes. Yuki grinned smugly with a hand on her hips and yelled, “Get yer head out of yer asses and stop bickerin’…Don’t make a scene everyone we go!”_

_“Tsumu started it!” Osamu, who Atsumu just realized, had also been hit with another ball, complained, rubbing the back of his forehead. Glancing nervously at the rest of the team, who was watching the scene dumbfounded._

_“I don’t want to hear it…” Yuki interrupted him and turned on her heel, facing a flock of girls that were giggling. “Sorry, Captain! But as I told yer…they are imbeciles ….”_

_Yuki had made the team. Atsumu noticed that she already had a team jacket wrapped around her hips in the maroon gym shorts of their school. Her short bob tied in two pigtails, fringe pinned aside. Maybe still a little in shock, Atsumus drifted his eyes up again from her shoes up to her exposed legs._  
_Despite the discoloration on her skin (she had a tendency to get bruises very easily and being libero didn't help much in that regard either) Yuki was looking…. good…standing there with such confidence and pride. A hand on her hips that well….that really had changed...she had gained so much more confidence on the court that she didn't seem like 5.2 ft anymore...gosh, his head was still pounding._

_Yuki turned her head around and glanced at Atsumu over her shoulder, who noticed that he probably was staring. “Yeah, I forgot my long knee pads,” She said._

_“Um…what?!”_ he blinked 

_“That’s what yer wonderin’ right?” Yuki furrowed her brows. “My knee pads, the long one’s going up to my thighs…I think they are still in the laundry.”_

_I have to buy her another pair. Atsumu thought, gulping for some reason he wasn’t really sure and joined the other first-years who were huddling for a discussion._

_“Okay, listen, up…the girls have been playing for a long time together,” Aran said, “Most of them are third years, with only a few second years, and apparently they only got the one recruit of a first-year…. Hokkyoku Shirayuki…”_

_“Our Yuki, yeah…” Atsumu corrected him. Why did he say ours? Damn that was embarresing._

_The rest looked at him, blinking._

_“She likes to be called Yuki,” Osamu shrugged and glanced at his twin from the corner of his eyes, slightly grinning “That’s all.”_

_“Yes… I recall,” Aran nodded, “Libero, right?”_

_“Yes…” Osamu nodded_

_“So no fear of her striking…. just keep up a good defense and oh…blockers…. that number 3 of theirs…Saito she likes to faint.”_

_They started their match. 3 sets going to 15 points. The game had been a close one. Obviously, the girls won the first set since all of them had worked together previously, and the boys’ side consisted mostly of newbies. Yuki seemed to have some problems dealing with Aran’s damn powerful spikes. He definitely hit stronger than most girls in middle school ever attempted and adapted to that was different. However, she did exactly that rather quickly. Bending her knees more to get lower, sidestepping to receive the powerful hits' momentum and immediately digging them to the next best person and caught her fall as rolling over her shoulders and quickly got on her feet again. In the second set, the boys worked better together. Atsumu finally got an idea of a set for his new teammates and even attempted a serve ace. However, Yuki noticed the change in his form and jumped forward to receive it in, pancaking on the ground, grunting as her body made an impact on the floor and barely missed the ball._

_“NICE RECEIVE PIGTAILS!” Atsumu taunted as he watched the petite girl standing up, blowing him a raspberry. "Yer first-ever service ace Tsumu? That was cute!" she yelled over and got ready for the next set "Bring it!"_

_The last set was a little messy. Both teams were a little worn out from tryouts, but Atsumu saw some beautiful saves from Yuki but surely not as beautiful as his sets. He chuckled lightly. He was not going to lose against her. Heck no!_  
_The last set ended at 16:14 for the boys…._

…

Abruptly, Yuki opened her eyes. She had dreamed that her head had turned into a blueberry and began to grow bigger, inflating like a balloon, so she checked her face immediately. That just had been a dream…. Why do these always end up in something weird? At least this time, there was no Atsumu surfing on a bus in the background…. why did he keep doing that in her dreams anyway?

She fell back into the comfort of her pillow and checked her phone on the nightstand. It was pretty early. She’d woken up before her alarm and therefore had time to take a shower and prep. Feeling pretty drained, she rolled out of bed and did her usual morning stretches.

Yesterday, she’d texted the teams’ group chat whilst watching a video of their opponents with the coaches, Aran and Kita. She wrote that she’d gotten back to the hotel, was fine, and that they should get to sleep. However, that didn’t stop the twins from blowing up her phone with messages until Aran, annoyed from the buzzing, took her phone from her and send them a voice message.

“We told you to go to sleep. Yuki is fine. She is hanging out with the coaches, me….and Shinsuke…who says hi by the way.”

“Hi,” Kita-san had added dryly.

Then the messages had stopped. The five of them had talked tactics and approaches, then finalized a few things before the two upper-classmen had brought Yuki to her room.

She’d had called her dad and felt guilty about that, too…disturbing him on his day off that late into the night. But it had helped to talk everything over. He’d apologized to her that he’d let it slip to her mother that Yuki was in Tokyo, but Natsuko complained that she’d never had the time to make it down to Amagasaki. Her life was just too busy, and it would be nice if Yuki could visit her once in a while. Hisashi then had told her, that if Natsuko had cared, she’d known that Yuki was in town for the tournament and contacted her. Natsuko had pestered Yuki over text for the details throughout yesterday's train ride and wanted to get their guest house address.

Yuki had finally fallen asleep sometime between 2 and 3 am and paid the price for it now. The room had been left in a hurry, and she’d yet to clean up and pack all the necessities for the arena. She decided first to shower, wash and dry her hair, take a little time for herself, and then pack her bags.

Looking over the small backpack where she kept all the little emergency stuff for the boys’ needs, she always kept the medic bag in her room and changed into her Inarizaki team tracksuit and the simple black t-shirt that went with it.

She was just tying the jacket around her hips when she heard a knock at her door. To her surprise, it was Suna, standing there, hands in the pockets of his own tracksuit jacket.

“Morning….” Yuki tilted her head, “Is there something you need?”

“You’ve showered,” he noticed sniffing the air… lavender…. and invited himself into her room. He looked around, eying the organized chaos, then added a mumbled “mrnng!”

“Is there anything you need?” Yuki wondered, asking the same question. Suna was unusually stiff today. He even forgot to slouch, “Or are you picking me up for breakfast?”  
“Yes,” Suna answered simply and eyed her from the side “I….um…”

He cleared his throat. “I thought that maybe I could do your hair again…

“What? Um…. Why?” Yuki chuckled nervously. That was sure out of character for the middle blocker.

“I don’t have to…was just being nice…since you don’t have the ability to take care of that mop that’s on your head,” he ranted and fidgeted his hands around. Oh….

The very un-Suna thing to do…which he must have realized as well and promptly hid his hands back in the pockets. He was fidgeting so much that he didn’t even have his phone out….

“Nee…Sunarin,” Yuki looked up at him and saw a twitch in his eyes “…are yer perhaps a little nervous about the game?”

Suna, didn’t answer and stared down at her and pouted a little. Human emotions...wow!

“If it calms yer nerves…be my guest,” Yuki shrugged and moved to go to the bathroom where the only mirror in the room was, 

Suna followed her silently and grabbed the little comb she was holding out to him.

“Thanks,” Suna muttered as he stood behind her and started doing her hair. He went to work, combing through her tresses and taking parts, twisting and braiding and in silence…but Suna seemed to calm down a little; he started to slouch, and the expression in his eyes relaxed as well.

“…. were worried about you,” he said after a while twisting some strands together.

“Pardon?” Yuki mentally had been wondering if she packed everything she needed.

“The twins…” Suna said, tugging yet another pin into the ash brown locks, “and the others…. were worried about you….”

A little silence then.

“Blondie in particular….” he tugged few strands around her forehead free then added, “I think granny too…. but I didn’t pay much attention to him.”

“Granny?” Yuki chuckled. “Just because his hair is dyed gray? Poor Sumu!”

“He also behaves like a flustered old grandma,” Suna muttered under his breath and stopped his work to look at it.

“What?” Yuki didn’t hear it correctly. Couldn't Suna speak clearly for once?

“Never mind….” Suna rolled his eyes, then glanced at her small toiletry,“I guess… be a little nice to them? Atsumu especially needs to focus…not that I particularly care but he is our setter....well……you’re finished…your hair I mean…try that mascara thing you have laying there…it might look good on you.”

“Really?” Yuki took it in her hand. “I never really used that”  
“Shall I?” the blocker shrugged and carefully proceeded put mascara onto Yuki’s lashes.

“Thanks, Rin…” Yuki said, checking herself in the mirror, “How are you so good at that?”

“I have some little cousins, one in particular,” he shrugged “she’s eight, and when the family gets together, I end up babysitting her, and well…we had plenty of tea parties and stuff…”

Yuki grinned, thinking of Rintaro at a princess tea party, wearing fake butterfly wings that were too small for him. A tall middle blocker sitting at a pastel table wearing a rhinestoned princess crown sipping imaginary tea out of a plastic cup and having a polite conversation with stuffed animals.

There was another knock at the door, and Yuki faced Atsumu when she opened it.

“Mornin’ Yu, I’m picking ya up for breakfast- what are you doing here?” he spotted Suna in the room.

“Hair…” Suna shrugged and pointed at the back of Yuki’s head, “Also helping Hokkyoku carry stuff down stairs.”  
“You told us yer were going for breakfast.”

“Yes,” Suna nodded and grabbed the medic bag. “I was…after visiting Hokkyoku…so If yer excuses me.”

The green-eyed blocker passed Yuki and Atsumu and looked behind his shoulder for a bit, then shook his head and went downstairs.

“He was really just doing my hair!” Yuki said and wondered why the heck she felt the need to defend herself. It wasn’t like she was doing anything wrong. But Atsumu's expression had been a little intimidating.

“He’s been acting all strange today….” Atsumu grumbled, “Osamu too…it is really a pain sharing a room with those two"

"Maybe the game is getting y'all nervous?" Yuki suggested 

"… anyway" Atsumu muttered in response, "…Shall we get going?”

Yuki nodded, grabbed her phone, the backpack, a duffle bag with her room keys, and went downstairs. They met up with Suna again when they dropped off the bags in the lobby, where their other teammates already put their things on a neat pile and entered the dining hall.

“Mornin’ everyone,” Yuki muttered as she approached the large table where the team was sitting and bowed a little “Sorry….to make y’all worry …. but “

She cleared her throat and looked at her boys, who were smiling softly. Yuki straightened her spine, put her fist on her hips, and glared at them.

“Y’all need to get yer heads out of the clouds and focus on that damn game today, or I’ll torture ya…each and everyone in their own little misery…I got information and dirt all of y’all.”

Their smiles quickly faded to shock, then small laughter as they continued eating.

Atsumu sat down left next to Yuki while Suna squeezed next to Osamu on the other side of them.

“Horrifying speech Hokkyoku,” Suna commented after he’d settled. “Kind of like a cotton ball trying to be a big scary monster…”

“Princess tea party Rintaro-kun….” Yuki smiled and filled her bowl of rice, and Suna visibly shifted, muttering a curse, and grabbed himself a bowl of miso from the center of the table.

“Yer told us yer going down to breakfast,” Osamu glanced Suna said to the middle blocker and watching him sip his morning soup. The grey-haired twin seemed to consider saying something else but instead stuffed his face with some rice.  
“I lied…I was getting Hokkyoku,” Suna shrugged. “Both of you got on my nerves discussing if you should pick her up…so I just did it….and did her hair…” he added, glancing provokingly at Atsumu that grumbled.

A little smugness tugging at the corners of his mouth, Suna put down his bowl of soup and grabbed the grilled fish poking at it with his chopsticks with sweet delight.

“Got yer things downstairs,” Osamu muttered, helping himself to another bread roll and followed Suna as he moved pieces of fish to his mouth. “Thought yer like to know….”

The blocker’s eyes swayed back to the younger twin staying on him for a moment, a mischievous glint in his eyes for a bare second, then said quietly, under his breath so only the spiker could hear it, “Geeez…. thaaaaanks I’ll be getting on my knees later and thank you properly,” Suna mumbled sarcastically, rolling his eyes, causing Osamu to choke on his bread roll. Suna’s mouth twitching in amusement,

“YER ALRIGHT? SAMU ARE YER DYING?!!” Atsumu yelled frantically, reaching over to slap his twin’s back (he managed to hit his neck several times) forcefully while Osamu hived and coughed for his life. Oomimi, who had been paying attention to a story Akagi was telling him, silently shoved a glass of water in Osamu's direction. Tearing up, he gulped down the entire thing.

“I don’t know them…” Yuki muttered and held up her bowl of rice in front of her face so she couldn’t see them anymore and turned to her other side to talk to Gin.

Suna slightly snickered, eying Osamu, and helped himself to some grilled fish.

After the breakfast, where Osamu kept his distance from further bread rolls, the group got into the bus that would drive them to the opening ceremony arena. They would play the fourth match of the day and would have time there to relax and properly warm up, so they weren’t really nervous.

“Dang it…I forgot my scarf!” Atsumu complained loudly after they were in Tokyo traffic for ten minutes, no way to return to the guest house.

“Then, you’ll freeze to death….” Osamu said

“And that after I saved yer sorry life,” Atsumu spat back. “Dumb enough to choke on yer breakfast!”  
“Yer didn’t save my life…yer almost killed me while yer were tryin’ to help,” Osamu hissed "Can't even do that right can ya?"

“Ungrateful little…”

“Imposter!”  
“WANNABE!”

“SHOW OFF!”  
"LAZY PIECE OF SHIT!" "I SHOULD HAF EATEN YA IN THE WOMB!" "THAT'S WHY YA SUCK AT VOLLEYBALL YER KEEP EATING!" “SHUT THE FUCK UP YER IMBECILES!” Yuki, who’d finally had enough, had turned around in her seat and looked over the seats to yell at the twins, “We haven’t even made it to the stadium and yer bickerin’ SAVE YER ENERGY FER THE MATCH!”

The rest of the team snickered as the twins froze with hands on each other’s faces trying to push the other one away. Kita looked as if he himself would like to kill the twins for a moment but decided to continue reading volleyball monthly.

Yuki huffed rummaged in her bag for a protein bar and a hand crème. Then turned around again and propped her shins up on the seat.  
“Tsumu, Samu heads up!” she yelled and threw the snack at Osamu and the crème towards Atsumu, who both caught the respective thing with ease.

“Fer yer to shut up and focus on something else!” she yelled over the seats at the twins, who still looked dumbfounded.

“Thanks, YUUUUKIIII,” Atsumu yelled back and started to moisturize his dry hands “Yer the beeeeest!”

Idiot. Scarecrow. Idiotic piss haired lazy-ass. Annoying gremlin. Sungwoo-doppelganger, Smug little piece of overpriced Sushi.

….

Atsumu had not waited for Osamu to move his lazy ass out of his seat and had jumped over his twin as soon as the bus had stopped in front of the Tokyo Metropolitan arena. He passed his other teammates in their seats and got out as soon as their driver had opened the doors. Fresh cold air clearing his mind as he saw the Stadium in front of him

. Here they were Spring Interhigh.

“Move blondie,” Suna behind him muttered and pushed him a little. As usual, the middle blocker had a deadpan expression and looked like he’d like to be anywhere else today. It was still difficult for Atsumu to figure this guy out and weirder even Osamu, usually got along with everyone, acted weird ever since the two of them had hung out that one Sunday. Samu had been panicky almost before he met up with him and didn’t talk much at dinner that night…heck, he didn’t even have seconds claiming that he’d eaten out before…

“Get yer bag boys,” Coach Kurosu told them and did the same “Hokkyoku…I got yers.”  
“Thanks, you, Coach” Yuki smiled faintly as she struggled a little holding the Inarizaki High flag. The coach gave her duffle bag and the medic bag, and Yuki stood a little to the side, arranging all the things she’d be carrying.

After they all got their bags, they stood in a semi-circle, received their access card and a little pamphlet with the arena's outlay, and got the coach's instructions to stay together until after the opening ceremony.

Then they could watch other games or hang around until an hour before their game for warm-up.

Atsumu felt a gentle nudge on his upper arm, “Tsum?”

Yuki had bumped into his side and held out a piece of fabric to him, a thick maroon woolen scarf.

“Yer forgot yer scarf, right? Here, take mine,” she smirked a little “Can’t have our star setter catching a cold, right?”

“Thanks, Yu,” he said and wrapped it around his neck, a scent of peaches hitting him as he did.

Strangely, Yuki always smelled like peaches (and something else that was in her perfume he couldn’t really tell). Osamu must know, with that dang sensitive nose of his…but he had never asked his brother. He glanced back at her shouldering the duffle bag on her back, the medic bag on shouldered on her right, taking the weight off her bad knee and holding their school flag high that leaned on her left shoulder.

“Hey, kitten” Atsumu grinned and couldn’t help himself using the new nickname he had received a bruise from yesterday. “Are yer carrin’ the flag, so you don’t get lost in the crowd?”

“I can’t believe I was nice to you just now. “Yuki shook her head and toddled (because that’s what her small form moving under all that weight looked like) away to the front of the team to lead the way. She didn’t elbow him again…even though he’d used the new nickname. The nickname pigtails was getting a little old…since she wasn’t wearing her hair in those anymore…Atsumu smirked ....oh well.

He jogged a little, easily overtook Suna's trudging form and the rest of the team, and caught up to the front of the group where Yuki was fiddling with her phone in one hand whilst holding the flag, trying to take a picture of the group…probably for their team account.

“Yer way too short for that kitten,” Atsumu grinned and took the phone from her hand. “Here…let me. “

He tugged at the side of her jacket, pulling her closer to him and put an arm around her shoulders, bent his body lower to match her height, his face next to hers. Cheeks so close, he could feel her body warmth. Then he stretched out his other arm with the phone, checking that he had the rest of the team in the background.

“Guys…Ready?” Atsumu said loudly, so the group behind him paid attention and stopped for the picture. Then he turned his face to Yuki’s, which he realized was so close he could see her individual lashes. Had she put on some mascara? Was that why she looked different today…

“Ready kitten?” he said again, a little quieter and softer.

“S-sure!” Yuki gulped and looked into the camera of her phone. Atsumu himself grinned widely and saw in the reflection of the phone that Yuki, who glanced at him for a second, was smiling too, “3…2..1 KITSUNEEEEEE!”

The boys and herself got settled into a corner in a hallway and dropped their things there before roaming around and mingle with the rest of the other competing teams in the big hall. All of them, boys and girls waiting for the opening ceremony to begin. Yuki excused herself to go to the bathroom but regretted it on her return since she had lost sight of the boys.

Crap, she hated crowds. She made her way through jersey clothed bodies towering over her and looked for any of the black wearing players of Inarizaki and almost ran into a giant guy in purple and white who she had mistaken for a wall.  
“Sorry…” she mumbled, backing up instantly as the giant silently looked at her. Dark olive-brown hair with a pair of matching eyes was intimidating even though he didn’t show any form of expression on his stoic face. Yeah, Volleyball players were tall. This dude was large…no wonder she’d mistaken him for a wall.

“Sorry again,” Yuki mumbled and turned to walk the other way when the guy said, “Inarizaki?”

He probably read the inscription on the back of her jacket.

“Um…Y-yes?” Yuki turned around. Damn, this guy’s voice was deep.

“I saw some of your teammates over there!” he said, pointing towards left where Yuki could only spot a vending machine over the heads of players.

“Oh…right, thank ya!” she said, and the dude nodded and watched her leave.

What a weirdo. The tall, silent guy was right; she saw Osamu and Atsumu checking out the snacks standing next to a group of girls in their uniforms.

“So yer arrived yesterday, mornin’? Where yer staying?” one of the girls said to Osamu, and Yuki realized that one, the girl spoke in Kansai-ben and second that she knew that voice which was high-pitched ever since both of them were small.

“Madora?”

The group turned around and recognized Yuki, the girl Osamu was talking to, grinned brightly, showing off her pearly white teeth, her almond shaped eyes glinting.

“Ah, Shira-chan!” Madora Ikuno cooed, basically jumped, and gave her a bear hug. “The twins were sayin’ yer here with them. How yer been?”

A little awkward but happy to see her, Yuki patted Madoras back and waved hello to the other girls from Kobe Girls Academy. They all greeted her smiling, then told Madoka that they’d be going.

“Sure, I’ll join ya later…” Madoka gave them a thumbs up

“Congrats on making it to the finals!” Yuki told her, “Sorry, we didn’t speak at the ceremony in Kobe.”

“I don’t mind, Shira-chan!” Madora chuckled and poked her nose. “Yer were celebrating with yer team!”

She glanced at the twins for a second and turned around to Yuki again. “My…oh my look at you all grown up…and I mean that in matureness…because both of us know that yer a shrimp…”

“Yeah, thanks, Maddo” Yuki rolled her eyes, grinning at her best friend from elementary school back in Kobe. The girl she had started playing volleyball with and who practically supported her through during the worst time in her parent’s divorce always asking her parents if Yuki could stay over. That and Yuki’s fondness for the spiker were probably the only reason she was the only one allowed to call her Shira.

The last time she’d really spoken to Madora was at the Preliminaries for Interhigh of Hyogo in Kobe in June, where Yuki’s team had won for the girls. Where Yuki had her accident…Damn it…

“Glad yer doing better, Shi,” Madora said, putting a hand on Yuki’s shoulder. “I told ya to call me, but yer never did…but I guess yer had other things to worry about. I mean yeah…I could have called as well…guess I’m guilty too.”

“Sorry about that…maybe we can hang out again soon?”

“That’ll be great!” she smiled. “As you know, my birthday is comin’ up in February so we’ll have girls get together and we’ll celebrate yours too …. I was kind of sad that ya didn’t invite me, but one of the Miyas said that yer didn’t celebrate this year.”

“My name is Atsumu,” Atsumu, who had been drinking something so far, had said.  
Yuki chuckled at his expression. He was being ignored, something he wasn’t fond of really, and yes, she didn’t celebrate her birthday this year, not feeling up to anything major. They have had dinner at the Miyas, though.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever twin number two…” Madoka waved her hand at Atsumu. “We’re talking girl right now…so shoo. So Shi-chan…we’ll have a sleepover, popcorn trash talk, and everything…and I’ll hunt you down if ya don’t come…ya hafta teach us that hairstyle.”

“Actually, a teammate of mine did it for me” Yuki chuckled at the idea of her giving Madoka, shiny black hair Madoka in her long ponytail hair tips.  
“Yeah…because you dealin’ with hair is taking kitchen scissors and chopping it all off because it annoyed you” Madoka grinned then turned to the twins who were furrowing their brows. “True story…did ya know we were at the end of second grade, Shi had like really long hair, and it kept botherin’ her all the time and one day in summer she just, chopped it off…”

“Yeah, thanks for reminding me, Maddo” Yuki rolled her eyes. She had never told the boys how exactly she’d ended up with short hair. She told them she’d cut it in the second grade and kept it short. It was to spite her mother, of course…but seven-year-old Yuki didn’t think many things through.

“and then she used tape to fix it again. That didn’t work, so she proceeded to use chewing gum and- “

But thank goodness Yuki was spared from further embarrassing stories when a loud female voice announced.

The opening ceremony will begin shortly. Team captains, please come to the main doors to get further information.

“We better get going!” Madoka said, hugged Yuki again, and wandered off to a flock of other girls.

“Twin number two…my ass,” Atsumu muttered and pouted.

“Oh, don’t be such a big baby and get back to the group” Yuki shook her head and shoved his shoulder slightly. “Let me take this!”

She snatched Atsumu's drink out of his hand and sipped, “Nice! Thank you.”

“Yer lucky that yer cute and tiny kitten,” Atsumu mumbled with a small smirk after watching Yuki glared at him for the nickname “Cute, tiny and adorably furious!”

Smirking git of a slimy pushover. I hope yer sleeves roll down when you wash yer hands Atsumu she cursed internally then shook her head. They needed to get going. She moved her hands, touching the twins' respective arms, and gave them a slight shove. “See you guys later...you gotta get going.”  
“Okay, Okay…we will…we will,” they said unmoving, Yuki wasn’t that strong after all and waited until she stopped shoving. She decided to pinch them instead, so both of them got the heck out of her reach.

Yuki took another sip from the bottle and watched Osamu and Atsumu, the new numbers on their backs, a little wrinkled due to them slouching and smiled to herself.

“OI! Stand tall, you two…. yer representing us…make me- Hyogo proud!” she yelled after him and saw as both of them straightened up their backs.  
The white numbers: seven and eleven glowing in the reflection of the lights.

She hurried to make her way to the viewing area to stand next to the coaches as she watched the teams walk in one by one, their names being announced loudly, the crowd cheering for them. The noise filling the large arena, mixing with the orchestra's fanfares as lights gleamed upon the tall ceiling above.

A little clump was building in Yuki's throat. Dark thought starting to cloud her mind as she realized that this could have been her...it was supposed to be here on the court they had won the finale in June…only if she didn’t have the accident…if she didn’t jump for the ball…if they recovery had gone quicker…if she only had stood up faster after her operation…if she hadn't been so damn weak on the first days maybe… one of these female players from Hyogo… could have been her and this could have been her Spring Interhigh Tournament.

She bit his lip and shook her head, furiously clearing her mind of bad thoughts. Focus, Yuki…. breathe in and out and focus on your goal. What was the team’s motto again?  
We don’t need the memories.  
All that was in the past, and she could no longer spend time thinking about the what-ifs.

She was the manager of the Inarizaki boys now…. And they… those hard-working boys were representing Hyogo.

Blinking the tears away, she spotted Kita leading the boys…her boys into the hall holding up the sign that declared their school's name and their prefecture.

Yuki might not be on the court today…but she’ll do everything in her power so that seven, eleven, and all the other numbers on the black jerseys could stand tall….  
So she straightened her back and cheered loudly.

p>

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this was a Chapter I personally see as a little filler-ish.  
> Also while writing it I realized that Samu and Tsumus numbers on their jerseys are 7/11 and laughed for like house afterward at this revelation....
> 
> We don't even have 7/11 here in Germany ( at least not where I live) am I missing out on anything.  
> (Except slushies which I know of from the Heathers musical :P)


	7. She was gettin’ into a street fighter scenario with one of our opponents.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Before their first match, the first years watch their competition or keep themselves busy by doing school work.  
> Yuki's lack of orientation gets her lost  
> and Atsumu seems to have trouble with the noise the Inarizaki cheer squad is making.

“Thank you for your support! “the Kobe Girls Academy Volleyball Club said as they bowed to their audience. Yuki applauded them for their hard work; unfortunately, Madoka and the girls had lost against Niyama from Miyagi in a close match.

The defeat was hanging heavy over the girls now having to go back to Hyogo, and Yuki knew that Madoka wouldn’t like to talk right now, so she stood up and made her way over to another game of Volleyball that she knew some of the first-year boys were watching.

“How did it go?” Atsumu asked when he spotted her and scooted over to have a seat and then leaned back, putting an arm around Yuki's seat.

“Lost the last two sets,” Yuki sighed, “25 to 22 and 25 to 17.”

“Blows…” he commented, patted her shoulder, and darted his eyes back to the court, not wanting to miss Itachiyama’s play. 

“What’s the score here?” Yuki asked Gin in front of her.

“The weasels are in the lead,” the silver-haired player said, “The third set. 18 to 16…that first year Sakusa is pretty good…he is getting’ more points than their third-year ace…”

“Their first-year libero is also outstanding,” Osamu commented as he smirked over at Yuki. “Motoya Komori…. over there…”

And promptly they saw Motoya save a particularly nasty ball.

“Wow…he got some amazin’ reflexes!” Yuki said, clutching her hands and looked at the player better. Weird eyebrows tho…..

“She’s getting’ the heart eyes again,” Yūto commented amused, “I told ya Gin…pay up!”

“Thanks so much, Yuki,” Gin mumbled and handed Yūto some money.

“Yer keepin’ bets on me?” she chuckled. “Bored already?”

“Yes…indeed,” Yūto said, smirking, “So Gin and I bet that yer get heart eyes every time we see a decent libero…”

“Did that bet include any other positions?” Yuki mused and looked back at the court where Sakusa yet again landed a point for his team. “Because damn that spiker is good…. he also has amazing hair.”

The boys turned to her with a blank expression on their faces.

“What? I say it how it is…he’s handsome” Yuki shrugged and shoved her hands into the pockets of her jacket.

Watching Itachiyama play made Yuki have the urge to run and get her notepad from her backpack to write down things about them. Another powerhouse school, but right now, they would not face them until the quarter-finals and had to get there first.

“I’m getting a little restless just sitting and watching others playing,” Yuki said and darted her eyes to the court left where another spiker had just won a point and was celebrating loudly screaming, hey, hey, hey “I’ll head back and see if the others require anything. Make sure y’all there for warm-ups on time…”

So Yuki made her way back to the little area their team was holding hostage right now. The second-year had decided to stay and watch over their things, and Suna was there to watch some cartoons on his phone.

“Yuki-san!” Kita said as he saw her approaching. He, Aran, and Oomimi were looking over some school work, “Everything all right?”

“Yes, the twins, Gin, and Yūto are watching Itachiyama and Kobe Girls unfortunately lost.” She said, plopping down next to her bag and getting out her own study materials and something to drink.

“Good job on keeping the twins under control on the bus,” Kita said, “I was just about to say something, but you were quicker.”

“They are pretty nervous,” Yuki said, “Even if they don’t wanna say it…Osamu is not eating as much and Atsumu is fidgeting with his hands a lot, and because of that they tend to fight over unnecessary things…more than usual.”

Like the second-years, she focused again on her studies. They would soon have final exams, and if Yuki anticipated changing classes, she’d had to pass them with good marks. However, that depended on the result of her next doctor’s appointment, which was after Nationals. Frustrated, she went over her math notes, the subject she had the most trouble with.

“Say …Suna…could ya maybe help me with this?” she decided after a while and glanced at the middle blocker, who sighed and got up to sit down next to her.

“And I thought you were supposed to be smart,” he uttered, glancing at her notes and tapped on the page. “There…you miscalculated there…don’t you re-read your exercises?”

“I forgot!” the ash brown haired girl shrugged and crossed out the exercise to start again.  
Yuki kept doing her work and hydrating with eventually lead to her needing to pee.

“Imma head to the bathroom before out warm-up,” she said, dumping her team jacket on the pile of her stuff and stretched her arms. “Anything I could get you…drinks…late minute snacks?”

“Thank you no,” Kita showed a rare smile. “Do you need anyone to accompany you?”

“Very chivalrous Kita-senpai but no thank you,” Yuki laughed. “I can take care of my own.”

“Senpai just wants to make sure you don’t get into trouble,” Suna mused, “Since the twins aren’t here to protect you from predators.”

“I don’t need the protection of Tsumu and Samu,” Yuki huffed and put a hand on her hips. “Predators? Geez, Suna, they’re just volleyball players and some extremely competitive coaches.”

“Correction Hokkyoku, hormonal teenage boys full of endorphins and adrenalin,” Suna said, shrugging, “and frankly, you fit into the perfect archetype of prey…”

“Prey?” Yuki laughed. “Seriously, Suna, you watch too many documentaries on Animal Channel…anyway…Imma head off.”

“Rintaro-kun,” Oomimi chuckled as they watched Yuki leave, swinging her arms and humming a tune. “What was this whole analogy of prey and predator about?”

“Aran-senpai and I were talking,” Suna said, glancing at his upperclassmen. “I was curious about something concerning the twins and Hokkyoku…and came up with a theory…”

“Care to explain that theory of yours, Rintaro?” Oomimi asked.

“Well…I asked since when the twins knew Yuki,” Suna said

“By the way, this was already a while ago,” Aran added.

“Yeah…after the summer break,” Suna agreed. “Anyway…I was wondering…Yuki seems to be a smart girl and somewhat funny…she’d also not that bad looking and athletic I guess…so why is it that no guy ever approached her in school?”

“That’s what he asked me,” Aran explained, “If a guy ever approached Yuki.”

“And I believe is because of the twins,” Suna said, looking at his upperclassmen. “Ever since middle school, they are a trio. I can’t say much about her in middle school. Apparently, she was all elbow and knees but now somewhat has a physical appeal…”

“Come to think of it…I thought of them as siblings when I first saw them interacting,” Oomimi said, “When Yuki-chan threw that volleyball at their heads…”

“But you also thought that Yuki was a middle schooler Ren,” Aran grinned.  


“And the fact that Atsumu kept looking at Yuki like he does when he thinks that no one is looking didn’t make you wonder if they are not related?” Kita grinned at Oomimi. “I thought yer supposed to be able to read people as a blocker, Ren…”

Oomimi grumbled something incoherent and turned to his History book again.

“So you noticed the stolen looks too, Kita-senpai?” Suna said, a little surprised that his captain said it out loud.

“Obviously, Atsumu keeps orbiting around her looking for her approval,” Kita said, a smile tugging at his mouth. “He came up with the idea that she could be our manager.”

“So…what do we do about it?” Suna asked, then added, “Do we do anything about it?”

“No,” Kita chuckled and shook his, “The both of them still need to grow a little to be able to understand each other on this level…this is fragile, and if you move too fast, you might break their relationship.”

“Also, Yuki-chan is a little oblivious, and Atsumu is an idiot…” Aran grinned.

“Idiocrasy runs in the family,” Suna muttered. “Osamu is not any better.”

“What was that?”  


“Nothing!” Suna said quickly and sighed, “Does that mean we all have to endure it silently?”  


“You may take pictures of them for later use,” Kita approved and shut his book. “I’ll see if the gym is ready for us to have a warm-up.”

Meanwhile, Yuki Hokkyoku was lost. Her trip to the bathroom had been uneventful, but on her way back, she must have taken a wrong turn, deep in her thoughts, then was distracted by one of the camera teams interviewing the wall guy she bumped into before the opening ceremony. Then she was distracted by some people from the Inarizaki cheer squad and orchestra, who just arrived and were asking for directions, so Yuki ends up showing them the way and somehow getting lost on her way back.

Crap, her and her stupid nonexistent sense of direction…. why did she leave the map behind? Oh yeah, because she didn’t anticipate getting lost in wonderland on her way to the bathroom. Why didn’t the white rabbit just kill her already, or was that the queen that chopped heads off…she didn’t recall…in middle school, they had performed this on their school festival, and she got the role of card number 5 while the twins both played the Cheshire cat. Their teacher utilized that the twins were two of them to make it look like the cat teleported on stage. Her mum had been disappointed that she didn’t have a bigger role and had canceled her ticket to come to see the play.

Yuki hurried down a hallway, frantically looking for something that she’d recall or at least some sign showing her where to go. She nearly bumped into a group of Nekoma players in red when she turned around a corner and promptly froze on the spot to let the group pass the last person lagging behind, focused on the PSP in his hands.

She glanced at the watch on her wrist. It was almost time for warm-up…. maybe she should just call…but then she needed a phone for that…and her phone was perfectly secure in her jacket.

“Are you lost pretty?” a voice very close behind her said, making her jump and turn around quickly.

A volleyball player looked down at her, blond spiky hair and wearing a blue and yellow team jacket. Huh…that seemed familiar.

“Um…” she glanced at his uniform, trying to remember the team he was playing for.  


“Speechless aye?” he grinned and came closer. “Can’t blame you…honey…you need help finding your way, or do you want to continue getting lost in my eyes.”

A little too close for comfort. And the oldest pickup line in history...really?

“Excuse me?” glared up at him, still not believing that this guy had the audacity to speak to her this frankly. It made her want to both gag and grouch his eyes out.  
“Sure…if you give me your name and number?” he grinned down arrogantly, putting a fist on his hips.

“Yer gotta be kiddin’ me,” Yuki sighed, earning another chuckle from the guy.  


“Oh pardon my manners, my name Motoki Teradomari, you can call me Tera-kun,” he purred. “Your dialect is interesting…are you from Hyogo? Shame that you girls lost…I could offer a way to make you feel better.”

He was not only arrogant but also a fool. She was wearing white sweatpants, and a simple black t-shirt…Kobe Girls wore green and yellow. Did he receive too many balls to his head, or was he born stupid?

“No, thank you,” Yuki said and turned on her heel to go but was held back as Teradomari grabbed her by the wrist, pulling her back.

“Wait, wait…you haven’t given me your name yet, cutie,” his thumb stroking the skin on her wrist. 

Yuki squirming against the surprisingly tight grip, said, “Kindly, let go of my hand.”

“Oh, come on, princess…I just want to lighten your mood.”

But she wasn’t having it. Yuki put her other free hand on top of the guys’ and pushed it first down then pulled it towards her body. A second later, she swung the arms and pulled the at wrist pushing it down and towards him away from her. Teradomari stumbled backward in shock and anger.

“What the heck!” he complained and glared up at her. “Geez, you little bitch…why are you so..?”

But he didn’t finish his sentence as he stared at something or someone behind Yuki now. Yuki tensed for a moment, feeling a presence looming behind her, but then realized that she knew the voice that spoke up and relaxed.

“Ya could count yerself lucky that she only hurt yer pride a little,” Atsumu said and wrapped his arm around Yuki’s shoulders and slightly pulled her towards him. “Or that one of us joined in on the fun …we ain’t like it when some scrub messes with our manager. Ain’t we guys.”

Atsumu looked behind him where Yuto, Gin, and Osamu stood, glaring at the other player arms crossed and nodding. They had all changed into their warm-up uniforms, standing tall and proud and frankly intimidating.

“You're…. you’re from Inarizaki?” Teradomari started at them, and she almost felt pity for him.

“Yeah…we are,” Atsumu glared, putting his free hand on his hip. “Gotta problem with that punk?”

“You’re our opponent,” he gasped, looking at Yuki, then at Atsumu, who both looked at each other for a second realizing the same thing.

“Ah…” Yuki said and gently swatted Atsumu's hand from her shoulder and smiled at the guy, saying sweetly, “That’s why yer uniform was familiar…well I guess we see ya on the court...”

She turned around, hands folded on her back, and wanted to move if it wasn’t for Atsumu glared at Teradomari. Yuki proceeded to pull him with her by tugging at the fabric of his black shirt, muttering, “Save it for the game.”

“Say…yer, alright?” Atsumu asked, trotting along, and Yuki waved her hand as to swat away an insect. 

“A flee bite…I’m fine” Yuki dropped her hand from Atsumu’s shirt and glanced around at the guy in yellow and blue, focusing on him with an evil smile. “Just make sure that you crush them in the game…”

“You sometimes scare me, Yuki-san,” Yuto mumbled as they joined the group.

“Ah, there you are,” Kita said as he watched the group approach. The rest of the team was already spread out in the gym doing stretches.

“Delivery! One lost kitten, coming right up,” Atsumu grinned. “She was gettin’ into a street fighter scenario with one of our opponents. Tryin’ ta get one of the players beaten and bruised so he couldn’t play…”

“Sure…” Kita looked at his setter “Let’s get warmed up!”

“See ya, do yer best!” Yuki said to the boys and approached the bench and the coaches. She, however, faltered as she saw the people gathering on the bleachers.

“The cheering squad made it.” she noticed watching Yurio Kawasaki, the second-year conductor warming up the music squad. The cheerleaders, she noted having more new female students than she remembered. And they were giggling and screaming names of the players while the team was warming up.  
Yuki saw that Atsumu kept glancing over to the bleachers. At first, she thought it might be because one of the giggling girls was Megumi, who wasn’t a part of the cheer squad at the last games as far as Yuki knew. But then she noticed that Tsumu was a little more uncomfortable with the music, the muscles in his shoulders tense as he was stretching.

Yuki prepped the waters and neatly folded the towels while the guys stretched and left the gym to change their official uniforms. Her boys all in black looked very intimidating, but it also made the fans cheer even louder. 

“Yuki-san,” Kita said as they passed, “Mind helping with the warm-up?”

“Sure thin’ Kita-senpai,” Yuki nodded and took the trolley from Gin then rolled it to the other side of the net. She briefly nodded at the Tsubakihara players as they watched her approach, that Teradomari guy grinning at her, “Do you even know how to do that Manager-chan?” Slimy git. Yuki did her best to ignore him and turned to her team lining up.

“Alright, Akagi-senpai,” she said to their libero, “Coming right up!” 

She threw the ball high over the net. Akagi received it and turned it into a set towards Atsumu, and he spiked it onto the gym floor with a loud smack the ball boys behind Yuki hustling to gather the ball.

“Nice kill!” Yuki yelled, and Atsumu tilted his head lazily, grinning and shot her a wink. Akagi moved to the back of the line, and Yuki tossed the ball to Atsumu to set. One by one, the boys served the ball until it was time for their opponents to do so. Yuri quickly wheeled the trolley away and sat down on the bench to watch the Tsubakihara players serve.

The teams were introduced and bowed to each other, and soon the first whistle started. The orchestra of Inarizaki blared music to encourage the team. However, Yuki noticed the tension in Atsumu’s stance as he serviced the ball into the net, scoring a point for the others. With a slight mortified look on his face, Atsumu cursed.

“Walk it off, Miya! Focus!” Coach Oomi said and clapped his hands together. Another Atsumu yet again messed up his serve again, hitting it to the end of the court into out. 0:2,  
The other team taunting Inarizaki but were quickly shut down by the cheering squad. “Shake the nerves off Miya…c’mon,” the coach muttered under his breath.

The team rotated, and it was the other side's time to serve. Akagi easily received the ball, and Atsumu set it perfectly to Aran, who transformed it into a beautiful point. Here he didn’t seem to have issues. So what the heck was going on with Atsumus serves today….

She carefully watched the game's progress as the teams scored points and rotated soon; it would be time again for Atsumu to serve. The music in the background hyping up the court with blasting tunes…. then it suddenly hit her

“It’s…the music,” Yuki realized and glanced back at the orchestra. “Damn! It’s… music! Coach…excuse me.”

Yuki stood up, and while the team on the court was moving into positions, she ran out the back door. Crap, crap, crap…. she thought. Where is the way to the bleachers? It was silent in the hallway c’ept the drums' noise that was kind of muffled and the screeching of her gym shoes on the floor as Yuki made a sharp turn. Stairs…there they were! Her legs were burning, and her chest felt tight as she adrenaline rushed through her veins. She pushed open the big door and was greeted by a wave of noise as she stood now in the middle of the Inarizaki cheer squad, yelling, “Nice kill.”

Yuki yelped a little as she dodged the red and black colored cheerleaders standing on the stairs, maybe pushing the one or the other a little to the side. 

“Kawasaki-san!” she said, although her rapid breathing made it seem impossible to get one syllable out of her mouth, “Kawasaki-san!”

The student conductor looked at her in surprise, arms still moving to conduct the instrumentalist on the bleachers.

“Hokkyoku-san?” he whispered, “What’s going on?”

She panted, putting a hand on her chest, trying to gain her composure and stopping her heart from pumping so loudly against her own chest. Glancing at the court. Atsumu’s serve was next…his turn was the next one…

“When Number 7, Miya Atsumu is serving…please stop the music!”

“What?” Kawasaki kept moving his arms. “Why should we?” “Please!” Yuki urged, “He needs to concentrate…and the loud noise kept messing up his last two serves!”.

She could visibly see the realization in Yurio Kawasaki’s eyes as he himself glanced back at the court. Atsumu just got a new ball from a ball boy and turned it in his hands as he was moving to the position. He glanced up at the bleachers frowning and then a little surprised to see Yuki there, gesturing with her hands at the conductor dude, who kept urging the orchestra to play even louder with his hands.

He turned around, trying to focus. Don’t mess up another serve Tsumu…. he thought. Yer the starting setter…make yer team proud, take yer step…1…2…3…4…5….6. Try a spike serve….it might be risky but…. focus…just focus…don't letcha self bein’ distracted by the blaring orchestra idiot.

“SHUT THEM UP!” he heard Yuki's voice over the noise as the orchestra suddenly died down, the last trumpets quaking, making it almost feel comical. It was silent…finally. The whistle sounded. Atsumu took a deep breath, and he hit the spike serve with perfectly adjusted power scoring his first point in the game. 

“YEAH!” he screamed and threw his fist in the air.

“Why didn’t ya do this in the first place, dumbass!” Osamu yelled at him over the court.

“Oi shut up…I needed to get into the groove!”

“Groove my ass…” Osamu bickered.

Atsumu looked back at the bleachers where Yuki and the conductor guy discussed something, her gesturing with her hands and him nodding. She bowed to the dude, a little blushing in embarrassment. Then she shot Atsumu a grin and thumbs up, turned on her heel, and made her way to the doors again. Thanks for havin’ my back, kitten.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, hey, hey (￣▽￣)ゞ
> 
> hope y'all doing well. Thanks for all the kudos <3\. I really appreciate them. 
> 
> Since my online uni will keep me pretty occupied I am going to reduce the number of chapters uploads to once a week on either Friday or Saturday. Maybe it will be every two-weeks but let's hope not.  
> My lit professor ( who by the way looks like an owl) has given us so much work already and classes haven't started yet and from the look of the 10-page syllabus it will be a lot throughout the semester :(╯°▽°)╯ ┻━┻


	8. Sunarin is adopted but shhhh…we haven't told him that yet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Atsumu is moody after those missed serves.
> 
> Akagi and Aran discuss who of them is the cool uncle while Omimi wants to be anywhere else.
> 
> And Yuki reminisces about the Hyogo Pre-eleminaries last June.

When Yuki had said to her fellow first-year teammates that they should crush the Team from Tsubakihara…she meant it figuratively. She did not, however, anticipate that the match would be over so quickly. The first set was won by 16 to 25. You could practically see the other team's spirits falling into a valley of great despair, so the second set was decided 15 to 25. Aran scoring the most points in the game.

She almost had pity for the players in blue and yellow. Seeing people so defeated was never pleasant, but Yuki could not be prouder of her boys as they thanked their opponents for the game.

"Oomi-sensei I'll go and fetch the lunches and get some fresh water if that is alright with ya," she said, throwing the last used towel into the basket and having cleared the water bottle.

"Thank ya Hokkyoku," he nodded and called for the boys to gather around.

Since they were finished earlier than expected, they would watch some other matches before having a second one early in the afternoon. Yuki went to the supply room first grabbed the carton with the bentos, and then filled up the bottle with fresh water. When she returned, a little struggling under the weight, the boys had already changed back into their tracksuits, and thank god had used some deodorant. Thankfully Yuki had managed to slip away before receiving any sweaty hugs. Since the boys were so huge, she usually ended up smelling armpits.

Akagi spotted her. He came over to help her with the large box grinning more than usual about the early win, and probably due to the prospect of getting food.

"Have we decided with Match we're gonna watch?" she asked as she distributed the bottles.

"Shiratorizawa vs Sakurawa Tech," Akagi told her, sat down the cardboard box, and started giving out bentos to his teammates. "Guys…. get in line… don't come at me all at once!"

It looked like Akagi was a Zookeeper trying to control the beasts for feeding time. The boys (minus Omimi and Kita, of course) shoved and grumbled, complaining about being stepped on until they could form a line.

"The winner of Shiratorizawa vs Sakurawa Tech will be our opponent tomorrow," Atsumu, first in line, commented, inspecting the content of the lunch blocking the queue.

"That…only if yer ain't gonna mess up yer serves", Osamu shoved his brother aside to get his own food.

"Shut yer trap it was only twice!" Atsumu barked at him, "How many times did ya got caught day dreamin' today Sumu?"

"I was hungry," Osamu defended himself and moved aside for Yuto and Gin.

"Then fer once in yer life stuff yer face trap and be quiet."

"I should have eaten ya in the womb!" Osamu grumbled and walked off out of the gym.

The team expected Atsumu to yell something at his twin, but the blonde just huffed and kept staring at his food as if he could burn a hole through it. It was unusual to see Atsumu being so quiet and backing down from bickering so quickly.

"About those missed serves…" Kita said, patiently waiting for the others to get their food. "We need to talk about this Atsumu."

"Yeah…" the blonde twin replied, his head lowering even more. "I know I messed up…."

Yuki glanced at her best friend. Head hanging, staring at his gym shoes. Looking almost as defeated as the players from Tsukihara. Atsumu always was hard on himself after matches, but today especially. She saw him gripping the bento a little too tightly, his knuckles turning white. Yuki sighed and moved towards the setter, gently placed a water bottle in his hands, and put her own hand on his upper arm.

"About that…" Yuki said, squeezing his arm gently and felt both the captains and Atsumus eyes on her, "I talked with the conductor…"

"Yelled, Yeah," Yuto grinned and grabbed himself a bottle from the bag. "We heard…"

"Yeah…that too… that ass-…" she corrected herself under Kita's silent gaze. "Um …sorry that…. the conductor…and we sort of came up with a hand signal for ya to do if ya want the music to stop."

Yuki took her hand off Atsumu's upper arm and demonstrated the signal.  
Raising her hand until it reached the height of her head, then suddenly clamped it into a fist, "He'll stop the music!"

"Thanks Yu" Atsumu, now with a genuine smile on his face, lifted his head a little "Shall we go eat then?"

"Sure I'll join ya once I'm done with the towels and stuff…" Yuki said, "Just warning ya…the cheer squad is waiting in the hallways to congratulate you."

It has taken her longer than she anticipated to meet up with the boys again. She exchanged the cart with the smelly used towels with new ones and put them safely with their other supplies, then, of course, got lost on her way to the match. Even though she remembered to grab the brochure with the gym outlay. She entered the bleachers and was greeted once more by the loud noise of a cheer squad.

Shiratoziawa Academy sure knew how to be loud, and Yuki dreaded the next day a little. If they managed to win their next match against Mie's team, the battle would not only be between the volleyball teams. The orchestra would also battle it out. Sometimes she hated that her school was so extra when it came to cheering. She spotted her team high up, away from the school students in the bleachers' last rows huddled, eating and watching the game with different interests.

Suna, for example, had barely touched his food except for a bit of rice and was leaning over eying the game with silent interest, lips pressed together. On the other hand, Osamu was equally interested but had finished his bento and was now chomping on some rice crackers Gin was so generous of sharing.

"Yuki," it was Aran who spotted her first and gestured for her to join him, Omimi, and Akagi in the last row. She then noticed that both Atsumu and Kita were missing from the group.

"Tsumu wanted to eat alone and left…" Akagi explained when he noticed her carefully searching eyes.

Yuki sat down on the seat next to Omimi. He observed the game and tried to ignore Akagi and Aran next to him, discussing Atsumu's absence.

"Yeah…I mean he was pretty upset about the serves," Aran nodded, "and that big baby didn't want to show it…"

"He's way too hard on himself sometimes," Yuki muttered and opened her lunch and picked through her food. Maybe she should go and try to find him…she had thought that having a solution to the music issue would lighten Atsumu's mood…

"Shinsuke went after him to talk," Omimi smiled down at her. "Don't worry he is not angry at Atsumu…. but we both thought that he should not be alone at this stage."

"Have y'all properly eatin', " Yuki said, picking at her own vegetables, not really feeling hungry anymore. "We still have some bananas and squeeze pouches. I can get them fer ya".

And maybe look if I find Tsumu anywhere.

"Ya better eat up first," Omimi said, looking at her shoving rice around, his tone a little scolding. Yuki, under the gaze, started shoving the rice into her mouth. Omimi was a gentle giant, but his gaze sure could be scary sometimes, and Yuki found herself shrinking under it.

"Yeah better chomp down on ya food Yu-chan!" Akagi grinned over to her, wiggling his eyebrows. "Or Mom will be angry with her favorite child!"

"Mom?" Omimi stopped watching Yuki chomp on the veggies and turned to his classmates, face a mixture of confusion and annoyance. Akagi had put on one of his teasing smirks.

"Yes…Oka-san," Akagi sang, and Aran beside him buried his face in his hands, mumbling words that sounded suspiciously like some of the insults usually heard between the twins.

"Is this about the comment about me and Shinsuke looking like a married couple when we drink tea?" Omimi glances at his teammates.  
Aran was now had put a hand over his mouth. Trying to hide the fact that he was smiling and Akagi was snickering like a hyena getting the other first-years' attention, Yuto, Gin, and Osamu. Suna's gaze was still fixed on the game below.

"What's up?" Yuto asked, glancing between the third years and finally resting his eyes on Yuki, silently demanding her answers.

Yer, the manager, manage things and try to breathe while eating. Yuki took her time chewing, which gave Akagi time to calm down and wipe away the tears forming in the corner of his eyes.

"Auntie Akagi is teasin' Mom and Uncle Aran is tryin' to suffocate himself with his palms," Yuki commented dryly nibbling at a mushroom.

"Why am I the Aunt?" Akagi complained, no longer laughing but whining, "Why is Aran the uncle…"

"Dude I'd totally be the uncle! I'll even be the cool uncle," Aran said, puffing out his chest "Ya the crazy aunt…"

"If I am…and I'm not saying that I am…I am totally not married to ya "Akagi grumbled and punched Aran's shoulder to prove his point.

"Of course yer not," Aran said, not being fazed at all that the libero had just punched him. "I'm the cool uncle from Ren's side and yer can be Shinsuke's delusional sister or something!"

Omimi closed his eyes and sighed deeply. Where was dad---Kita when he needed him? Oh yeah, talking some sense into the problem child/teenager of today…

"What are we then?" Gin commented dryly, pointing to himself, Yuto, Osamu, and Suna, who were busy watching the game.

"The weirdo kids... I guess, " Yuki said, shrugging, taking a sip from her water to wash down the food, "All the first years are…but Sunarin is adopted but shhhh…we haven't told him that yet."

"Told him what?" Atsumu's voice suddenly said. He and Kita had returned to the group and were standing on the stairs leading up to the seats.

"That Mom and Dad adopted him," Yuki grinned as Atsumu looked at her in confusion taking his hands out of the pocket of his pants.

Kita raised an eyebrow and looked around at Akagi and Aran, still discussing who was cool and delusional. Yuto and Gin, snickering about their upperclassmen. Yuki continuing to eat her bento, now focusing on the chicken and Omimi, who looked as if he was considering dropping out of school at this very moment.

"Don't ask…" Omimi commented and shook his head at Kita. "Let's just watch the game alright?"

The second-years and Yuki scooted together to let Kita and Atsumu sit in their row too. Yuki was now sandwiched between Omimi and Atsumu. The latter put his arm around her shoulder, pulled her closer to keep her from being squished into Omimi too much.

Atsumu seemed visibly relaxed. She slouched a little in his seat and pulled out a strawberry flavored yogurt drink with the hand that was not currently playing with the Hair on Yuki's shoulder.

Omimi was still very tense watching the game, but once in a while, glancing at Yuki whenever she paused eating.

"Tsumu…why do I feel like ya n' me are the naughty children being punished to sit between mum and dad?" she whispered quietly and felt Atsumu chuckle beside her.

"Cuz yer showed up late fer lunch and I threw a pouty-tantrum earlier," he said before snatching a piece of fried chicken from her bento.

Ushijima Wakatoshi scored another point for Shiratorizawa.

"Damn…." Yuki sighed, "Wall-guy sure is troublin' Sakurawa's defense with those power spikes…we need to come up with a good strategy to receive his blows."

Absentmindedly, she scratched the inside of her arms with the backside of her chopsticks. Any defense player would end up with bruised arms after serves like this. Yuki side-eyed Akagi, who nervously was bouncing his legs and then Suna, who hadn't moved a bit and still had not touched his lunch. This could become a severe problem.

"Sakurawa's blocks are good though," Omimi commented, "The two Shiga's are pretty in synch with each other."

Shiga Tomoya and Shiga Tomonari right now in the middle and left in front of the net moved like a unity whenever they blocked attacks.

"Twins too?" Atsumu asked, squinting at the players.

"No, I just siblings one of them is a second the other a third year…" Kita said, checking it in the pamphlet "Sakurawa's new coach played for Nekoma during High School…so he is a defense specialist…."

The ball flew from Sakurawa's side back to Shiratorizawa defense that quickly deflected the attack to their setter, transforming it into a perfect set for Ushijima.

The blockers got ready and jumped simultaneously, the hard serve connecting loudly with one of the Shiga brother's hand and dropping behind him into the court while he was still in the air. Pity another point for the Miyagi representatives. The blockers came down from his jump, and suddenly one yelped out in pain.

"What happened?" Yuto asked, "Did that serve injure his hand?"

"No, look," Gin said and scooted closer to the end of his chair. "It's something with his foot."

Indeed, Shiga Tomoya had dropped to the ground and clutched his right ankle while his teammates surrounded him.

"He came down the wrong way…" Omimi realized, "When he blocked, his body changed position slightly and he came down on the side of his foot."

Damn…. Yuki thought as she saw the situation down unfold. She had put down her chopsticks as she felt sick, seeing the panicked expressions on the faces of Sakurawa High's players.

The cheer team's noise from Miyagi blasting, not realizing yet what was happening on the court. The drums' constant beat and yells and then the sharp piercing of a whistle calling for time out.

It made the hairs on her arms stand up as cold sweat started to come out of her, chills running down her spine in waves, and her stomach churned, feeling too full all of a sudden.

This…was all so very familiar.  
Too familiar for Yuki's taste  
The cheering, the drums, the whistle, the call for EMT'S from the coach...

_It was the 30th of June, and the sun was already warming up Kobe significantly. Even though it was barely 10 in the morning. The ash brown first-year high school girl squeezed between her twin best friends in the car wanted to scream bloody murder._

_"Calm down Yu," Atsumu to her left said, "We'll be there on time!"_

_"Calm down??" Yuki said and once more hit his upper arm, "I freaking told ya to be punctual for once in yer sorry life…but noo ya needed to pack yer gym back the morning of."_

_"Daaaaad!" Atsumu complained to his father, who was driving, "Yuki is hittin' me…"_

_"Take it like a man that is responsible for being late son…." he muttered watching, the traffic. "Osamu stop laughing at yer brother."_

_Yuki continued cursing under her breath, not daring them being loud enough that they reached Isamu Miya's ears but loud enough for the twins' ears. It was the day for the Interhigh preliminary finals for Hyogo held in the capital Kobe. Inarizaki High School was lucky that both of their Volleyball teams, girls, and boys were representing them in the finals._  
_The boys were facing off against a High School from Toyooka while the girls would be playing against Kobe Girls Academy._

_Since Kobe was not far away from Amagasaki, the school decided that it would be best for the players to stay home overnight. The teams would get together before games at the Kobe City Gym. Naturally, Yuki always came with the Miya twins to the games. Luckily, Isamu Miya was kind enough to drive them there._

_Today, however, and too much of Yuki's dismay on the of the Finals freaking Atsumu was late. For him, this was not that big of a deal. The boys' game would be later in the day…for Yuki however being on the girls' team was getting more anxious the later they got._

_"Ya better eat somethin' before the game," Osamu said to her. "Ya barely touched yer breakfast…."_

_"Yeah…because I feel like I'm gonna puke'" Yuki muttered and fiddled with her phone._

_"Oh if yer feeling sick dear, I have some peppermints," Shizue Miya from the shotgun seat said and handed a small tin box over to her._

_"Thanks," Yuki mumbled and bit down on the mint and looked out of the window._  
_Maybe if she jumped out of the car and ran, she'd be there quicker…. but what if she got lost? She'd be warmed up tho…damn the girls wanted to meet at 10.30 for unofficial warm-ups…it was already 11.45…. ugh. Her legs kept bobbing up and down._

_She felt a large hand on her knee as Atsumu opened his mouth to say something, but Yuki shot him down quickly with a look._

_"Alright kids' "Isamu said, "I'm dropping ya off at the front, grab yer bags from the trunk…. mum and I will find a parking sport and join the bleachers later okay?"_  
  
_"Thanks!" Yuki said and opened up her seat belt poking both twins urging them to get out of the car quicker. It was Osamu, of course, who was quicker, and he'd already opened the trunk when Yuki climbed out of the vehicle._

_Yuki grabbed her backpack and practically ran off to the gym. However, damn, their long legs caught up to her quickly, annoyed at her running._

_"Why are ya in such a hurry?"_

_"Warming up!" Yuki panted, reaching the door and eagerly searching for the black and white tracksuits of the girls._

_"Hokkyoku!" Saito, the team captain, spotted her before she did, "There ya are!"_

_"I'm so sorry," Yuki panted " We got stuck in traffic…"_

_"IT's my fault…I got them late," Atsumu said to the 3rd year spiker. "Sorry…."_

_"It' fine…we just started warm up" she smiled " I'm just glad that yer here….but ya seem pretty warmed up already…. Let's go join the group…. Well boys …Kita and some of the second years from yer team are already here… they're in the other gym."_

_"What?" Atsumu said, "Already."_

_"Not everyone is as late as ya garbage face!" Osamu said, already walking off_

_"We have the same face Samu" Atsumu grumbled and ruffled his dark hair but joined his brother. Their bickering could be heard from far._

_Meanwhile, Yuki and Saito went to the gym where the girls were playing. Of course, they got a smaller gym while the boys were playing in the main one._

_"There she is Cinderella made it to the ball," Miko Juba, the second year setter of the girls' team, snarled as she spotted Yuki. "Made us wait."_

_"Miko…calm down…she already apologized… it's alright," Saito reprimanded, and Miko grinned sheepishly and commented_

_"Change yer shoes Hokkyoku…we're warming ya up with some drills."_

_"Yes, ma'am," Yuki nodded and dropped her bag next to the others', changed her shoes and passed her other teammates, and bent her knees facing the gym wall._

_"Head's up!" Miko called and counted down, then she threw a ball at the wall. It bounced off, and Yuki quickly dove after it digging it over her shoulder and focused on the next ball again….and again and again._

_Then they gathered around and started a stretch lead by Saito. Miko, of course, commenting on how Yuki, being able to do the splits, was showing off. Yuki just blew a raspberry at her, commenting that Miko's time for showing off would soon come._  
_The relationship between Miko and Yuki was strange…on the one hand, the second-year setter constantly bickered with her off the court but on the court always relied on Yuki's passes. As they finished stretching Yuki, saw that the girls from Kobe were coming into the gym from the other side. She spotted her childhood friend Madoka in the group and waved at her timidly._

_On the other hand, Madoka yelled out loudly and greeted her with "HEEEEY SHIRAAAA WE'RE GONNA BEAT YA AND YER SHORT 5 FEET SOMETHING BODY!"_

_"YY WAIT N SEE MADDO-CHAN I'M GONNA STOP Y'ALL SORRY SPIKES!" Yuki yelled back and laughed as Madoka gave her a thumbs up and shot her flying kisses._

_"Friend of yers?" Saito asked, smiling at the interaction._

_"From elementary yes..." Yuki grinned and went to the dressing room with the others to change into the black uniforms._

_Yuki being the libero contrasting the black shirts with a marron jersey with the number four on it. Miko somehow had managed to pull Yuki's short hair into two ponytails without many flyways and pinned her fringe back. Yuki was busy putting on the long kneepads that went up to her thighs; Atsumu had gifted her for making the team instead of the chocolate cake._

_"Yesterday's match sure got ya some more bruises Yu…" Saito said, noticing the new spots of discoloration on Yuki's pale skin "are they hurting?"_

_"Na…I barely feel em," Yuki waved it off. She was used to getting bruised easily. Since the pre-elimination started, she had new bruises every day and stopped counting._

_"That floor burn on yer arm must hurt thou," Miko commented, poking into the reddish spot on Yuki's right upper arm._

_"Especially if ya poke it Miko-san," the libero grumbled and got out her padded arm sleeves and quickly slipped them over her arm and decided to eat some last-minute snacks._

_"Yeah, yeah trying to look bulkier in 'em," the setter grinned and checked her braided hair in the mirror. "Y'all recon the cheer squad will give us the time of the day?"_

_"When the boys are playin'? NO way," Akane, their middle blocker, chuckled. "I heard the first year members of the orchestra were told to play for us…of course the boys get the professional squad."_

_"Will we have time to watch them?" another second-year defense player asked._

_"Well…technically," Saito said, "They're game is scheduled later…I guess we will be somewhere in our third and fourth set when the boys start. So in case we finish this early…yes…and if we win yes…"_

_"But I don't think any of us wants to watch them if we lose," Miko concluded. "They'll be watching us though in the beginning at least...I saw that scary second year duo Kita and Omimi earlier today...…."_

_Akane, who was filing her nails, grinned, "I even heard some guys from the Basketball and the Swim team are here to watch…and several male classmates."_

_"Really?" Yuki wondered, chewing on a protein bar, "Why's that?"_

_"Hot girls in short spandex?" Akane laughed, " Haven't ya noticed Yu?"_

_"Um…"_

_"Akane… it's Yuki…she doesn't focus on anything besides the ball once she's on the court," Miko laughed. "And besides our little libero is way too innocent to notice."_

_"To notice what?" Yuki furrowed her brows, dunking the wrapper into the bin close to her, and considered eating a banana next._

_"That some guys only come to games to stare at butts, especially when ya lean on yer knees…." Saito grinned, and at Yuki's disgusted reaction, put a hand onto her shoulder and shook her head. "Yer have really never noticed it before?"_

_"When we slip on the ground, spike…" Miko counted off the scenarios on her fingers and grinned as she saw Yuki's expression, "and they probably like that these jerseys show off our boobs. Ya midget can count yerself lucky for havin' a decent rack…. I mean for being this short…. In y'd invest in something else then a sports bra…or at least a decent one…little miss a cup."_

_"MIKO-SAN" Yuki matched the color of her jersey. She swatted Miko's hand away as the older girl tried to grab her around her waist to hive her up, laughing like a banshee._

_"Enough teasing the first year…. let's go for the official warm up…" Saito grinned then paused. "Not yet Miko…I think Yuki shouldn't worry about the a cup… she'll grow!"_

_"CAPTAIN!"_

  
_Atsumu and Osamu were getting bored; there was no use in warming up yet. Half of their team wasn't even there, however…. heck, the coaches weren't, and frankly, being near second-years Shinsuke Kita and Ren Omimi was hella scary…. the two of them hardly talked and so gentle and calm that Atsumu felt like a monkey in a porcelain shop, and Osamu had the strange feeling of having done something very wrong. Thank God that Aran was also there and their libero Akagi, who somehow lightened the solemn tone._

_All of the second years had decided to watch some of the girls' game something about Kita knowing the 3rd year captain Saito pretty well. So that's how they found themselves sitting in the first rows watching the girls from Kobe warming up._

_"That girl with the number 9 seems oddly familiar," Osamu commented, eying the spiker from the other team, "I can't put my mind to it…"_

_"Her name is Madoka Ikuno, a first year," Kita commented. Why the heck did he know that?_

_"Yeah…. familiar but still not really getting where I know her from" Osamu looked at Atsumu._

_"Don't look at me I don't care…" he shrugged and searched for the girls from Inarizaki who had not shown up yet._

_"Well…" another voice them, and the twins turned to see their parents and Hisashi Hokkyoku standing behind them. "Madoka-chan is one of Yuki's old friends from Kobe…you have probably met her on Shirayuki's birthdays…"_

_"With all due respect Hisashi-san….the last time Yu celebrated her birthday was back in elementary," Osamu said and gave him a little bow, then introduced his parents and Hisashi to Kita and Omimi._

_"Yer made it Hisashi-san!" Atsumu beamed at him and skipped the bow and hugged the man instead. "Does she know? She didn't tell us! OH this is great!"_

_Hisashi Hokkyoku was a man in his mid-forties but looked much older due to his long and demanding shifts in Kobe harbor. He was tall, which was weird since Yuki turned out to be so short and used to be athletic, some of it remaining in his posture. Though obvious markers of heavy labor had ages his face, Hisashi still kept a lightness to him, his eyes always glinting with Amusement. Yuki often had the same expression in her eyes. She even shared her father's strangely amber-brown eyes._

_Both the twins were fond of Yuki's father not only because from an early age on him, as his daughter, was one of the few people besides their parents to tell the boys apart. He also never called them the twins…something the two of them despised. Even though Hisashi worked a lot of the time, he made sure to drive them to games if their parents couldn't drop them and always brought them different snacks and ice-cream as a reward. He just was incredibly kind._

_In their middle school years, he often trained with them as he had played Volleyball himself in his High School times and helped them out with school work. He helped out in the kitchen whenever the Hokkyoku were over for dinner. Isamu Miya and Hisashi were drinking buddies (and even did men's karaoke nights at the local bar)._

_When their dad returned from one of these one night, the twins had overheard their parents talk. They tried to speak quietly so that they wouldn't wake the children having a sleepover in the living room. But it was loud enough that the twins listened in (Yuki was passed out like a rock, happily snuggling with Mochi, the cat). Hisashi originally wanted to go to university, maybe try out for college volleyball...later marry and move in with his High School sweetheart Natsuko. Still, when his father passed away suddenly in his first year of college, he dropped everything to take care of his elderly mother. He married Natsuko and took up an (at that time) well-paying job in Kobe…not realizing that his wife's lifestyle was a little too extravagant for his pay. His mother and Natsuko often fought about these things. Just a few months before Yuki's birth, Hisashi's mother passed away._  
  
_But all that didn't make him bitter. In fact, knowing that life could be hard, he felt joy in making other people feel good about themselves._

_Hisashi laughed and patted Atsumus back. "Glad to see ya boys too. My Tsumu, Samu both of ya keep growin' like weeds.…"_

_He smiled at both of them then sighed. "About Yuki, she doesn't know that I am here. Didn't know if it'd work out so I didnt tell her. I managed to convince my boss to extend my lunchbreak and that I can have it a little early....so I actually only have a little time to be here."_

_"I'm sure she'll be happy to know that yer here Hisashi, anyway" Isamu Miya patted his shoulder as he gestured for him to sit down. "Drinks tonight…to celebrate their victories?"_

_"Oh yes, I'll take ya up on that Isamu," Hisashi grinned. "Make sure ya bring the cup home boys…"_

_"Yes, sir!" the twins saluted simultaneously then looked into the court as the girls trotted in._

_A little bit late on cue, some disheveled orchestra members played some music to get the crowd going as the girls in black filed in. Yuki sticking out in her maroon jersey like a drop of blood on coal. Her expression serious as the amber orbs eyed the girls from Kobe who was already doing their official warm-ups._

_Yuki rolled her shoulders and stretched out her arms behind her back. The girls' volleyball coach Kumashima approached the girls sternly, talking to Saito. The girls did the official warm-up, spiking the ball over the net one after the other in constant slams, then divided into two groups, the one spiking, the other receiving the spikes. Yuki made it look easy as she was digging the balls back over the net back to the spikers and received a compliment from Madoka, who was watching her. Madoka said something else to Yuki. The libero turned her head, eyes widening in surprise and her face lighting up as she spotted her father in the bleachers and came close._

_"Dad!" Yer here!" she beamed, "I thought yer at work!"_

_"I could spare some time princess, I'm afraid I can only watch two sets."_

_"Don't worry about it dad," Yuki grinned and eyed the Miyas sitting next to her dad. "I'm just so glad you came! I'm gonna make yer proud!"_

_"You always do Yuki," Hisashi laughed. "You always do!"_

  
**To be continued….**

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HEY HEY HEY!
> 
> I hope all of you wonderful people are doing okay :)  
> Man this last week felt like the longest month of 2020 didn't it ? 
> 
> I wanted to thank 
> 
> rocker, crycereuz, Freiana, kananoya, sunflwrsandprettyskies, longing_for_kenhina, kirs_aa, Pinkist, Petpet, eunits, Even_the_darkest_light_shines for the kudos and the 620 + hits on this fanfiction <3  
> I'd love to hear from you in the comments as well (￣▽￣)ゞ


	9. Midget number four? The one with the wrong colored jersey?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warnings: angst, injury, panic attack

_The girls from Inarizaki had taken the first set in a more extended battle than expected 27 to 25, and tensions were running high between the two clubs. It was Vixens against Bulldogs. Kobe Girls Academy, it seems, was not taking it too hard just warming up it seemed. Still, Inarizaki, who had a much smaller squad, was starting to get nervous._

_“Crap!” Saito hissed as she re-bandaged her fingers and turned to the opposite hitter. “Hana could you help me?”_

_Miko, who just finished drying off the sweat, turned to the tall blonde next to her, “Say…. Akane…you okay with those spikes of their number 6?”_

_“Slowly gettin’ used to them,” their middle blocker muttered, “If it weren’t fer Yuki… they would have gotten more and more point.”_

_She glanced at their libero, crouching on the ground with her head bowed and eyes closed and hands on her neck and shoulders._

_“Pull yerself together girls,” their Coach Yagi grumbled and disregarded the girls around him “They made us look like fools out there! I want this victory to be a clean sweep…. get to it! Hana, Akane…was that supposed to be blocking? I’ve seen grade schoolers having better receives, Miko come down from your big horse! Start setting properly so our spikers can get them…”_

_“We should have practiced more….” Hana muttered, hanging her head, “I regret that I missed some of the practices.”_

_“Should have, could have would have,” Miko grumbled “Y’all need to pay bigger attention towards my tosses…. I’m doing the best I can here!”_  
  
_“And ya think I’m not?” Hana glared at her. “That last two set were too high!”_

_“Then jump higher, yer 6 feet tall for goodness-”Miko started but stopped because Yuki stood up suddenly._

_“Girls…” she said, still having her eyes closed, “Calm down…...we have won the first set…fine you can always practice more but it was not a full disaster….”_

_“But coach said,” Miko argued._

_“Yes…that he wants a clean sweep…then let’s try to achieve that…I got yer backs,” she said and tilted her head looking at her teammates, “Leave the defense to me. I’ll handle Madoka’s spikes, let’s switch it up…quick attacks, feints…c’ mon…we’re Inarizaki…foxes…tricksters we’ll make Kobe beef out of them.”_

_“Thanks for taking over the encouragement for me Yuki,” Saito clapped her on the back “Yer really fired up today…all right gather around girls …. Inarizaki Vixens fight!”_

_“FIGHT!” they all yelled and got back on the court._

_“Hokkyoku,” Coach Yagi said sternly as Yuki walked over to where the spare players were_

_“Yes, sir?” she asked, reluctant at the expression the coach was giving her._

_“I don’t appreciate you undermining my critique…and trying to take over Saito’s job as Captain!” he spat, glaring at her._

_“Pardon!” Yuki mumbled, “I wasn’t trying to…. I just wanted to boost morale…”_  
  
_“Not your job…yer job is to stay quiet and make sure that the star players score points…now hurry up, stay warm yer gonna go in for both Akane and Hana whenever they are at the back…since you are so keen of having their backs yer gonna receive every damn ball and it’ll be yer fault if not”_

_“Yes, sir!” Yuki nodded and trotted off to the other reserve players._

_Up in the stands Osamu was trying to figure out what the coach had just said to Yuki, trying to lip-read but was not successful in the stands._

_“I really dislike this Coaches Attitude,” Shizue Miya commented “He didn’t smile for one bit during the game and he was very late in the first place…”_

_“Yuki told me that the girls don’t really have a good connection with their coach,” Hisashi commented, “he even sometimes does not show up for practice and the girls are left alone…”_  
  
_“Really?” Isamu furrowed his brows and looked at his sons. “Is that why Yuki wants to keep practicing with you after training?”_

_“One of the reasons yes” Atsumu said, looking over at Yuki trotting to the reserve players, grim faced. “Since the coach sometimes doesn’t show up…some of the girls have started to skip practice…dunno why the coach does that tho…”_

_“Well…” Kita spoke up suddenly startling both twins “Coach Yagi, apparently wanted to work with the boys’ team but we already have two…”_

_The second set began. And the Bulldogs from Kobe were fired up to get the second set as quickly as possible. Their attacks were quicker, which led to some of the players from Inarizaki making stupid mistakes. 6:3 for Kobe._

_“One touch!” Akane yelled from the middle blocker position as the ball flew past her towards the left. Miko stepped forward, trying to toss for Saito, but it flew short and was about to hit the court when Yuki moved and got low on one knee, fingers and elbows locked, and pushed the ball up high. Passing it correctly for Saito to hit it._

_“SAITO-SAN!” she yelled as the ball practically flew right in front of the jumping spiker. The captain spiked and turned it into a point._

_“Yeah, baby!” she cheered and gave Yuki a thumbs-up as the libero scooted back to the backline._

_“Thanks for covering up!” Miko grumbled but grinned, “I won’t need it next time!”_

_The next set was decided 25 to 23 for Inarizaki._

_“Thank goodness…”Hisashi said as he glanced at the watch on his wrist, “I’m afraid I can’t stay longer…”_

_He looked down at the court where Yuki panting and leaning on her knees was thanking Akane, who held out a water bottle for her, while the coach was grunting something to the team captain. Feeling eyes on her, Yuki turned around, Hisashi gesturing and pointing to his watch. She nodded and gave him a thumbs up and a tilt of her head._

_“Seems like she got the message!” he smiled “Alright, then I’ll head off…best of luck boys…Isamu, Shizue we’ll see each other over dinner? Is there anything I should get?”_

_“Let’s talk about that when we see you out,” Isamu smiled, and the three adults left the bleachers giving their seat to three boys in casual clothes who just come into the gym._

_“Sweet, first row seats!” one of them with a buzz cut whistled “Damn those girl’s sure look good!”_

_“Keep it in ya pants Aratake!” the tallest of the three said and noticed the volleyball players sitting next to him “Kita, Ojiro…. surprised to see y’all here…. ain’t ya havin’ a game too?”_

_“Ah….Yukimura…not of right now, “Kita said, nodding towards the tall boy “Atsumu, Osamu this is Shosei Yukimura, captain of the basketball team…and I suppose these are yer new recruits.”_

_“Yeah…these are Gou Aratake and Takashi Koyama…first years,” he pointed towards the buzz cut then to the third guy, also a tall sandy-haired guy._

_“So who’s the girl you wanted to date Yukimura…is it the honey with the long ponytail?” buzz cut boy asked “No way she is too mean looking for yer cap…I think that one captain girl with the number one is way cuter! What do you think Koyama?’”_

_The sandy-haired guy tried to hide his smirk behind his hand and shrugged._

_“C’ mon…what’s yer type?” Aratake poked his teammate’s side. “I guess those shorts make it hard to choose….!”_

_The twins looked at the fellow first years in slight annoyance and felt their upperclassmen equally show hints of disgust. However, they were much better at hiding their expression._

_“You…” Aratake said, chatting happily,“Aren’t ya the two Miya twins the girls in my class talk all the time about? I’m Gou…in Class 1-2 with some dude called Ginjima who’s in yer team…smarty pants Koyama over there is in class 1-5…”_

_“Yeah… we’re in 1-3,” said Osamu, who had the decency to answer the basketball player._

_Atsumu, on the other hand, was busy glancing at the silently smirking Koyama and followed his gaze._

_Something felt off about this guy…. maybe it was that his eyes weren’t smiling even though he was smirking, or perhaps it was the way he was looking at the girls in the court eagerly…hungry almost._

_“That one…” he suddenly said, leaning forward, dark eyes resting on the number 4 who was currently pulling up her kneepads to her mid-thigh again._

_“Midget number four? The one with the wrong colored jersey?” Aratake laughed, “I mean she has a nice ass an all…but are yer sure?”_

_“Watch it,” Atsumu grumbled a little louder than he anticipated making the others look at him._

_“Dude?” Aratake chuffed nervously “I’m just saying as it is…nice butt but not much else going on…”_  
  
_“I told yer to watch it yer little punk!” Atsumu growled, and Aratake backed off a little._

_“Is she…yer girlfriend or somethin’,” Koyama, who was still leaning forward, had just darted his eyes towards Atsumu, glancing over his expression._

_“Um…” Atsumu halted, “No she’s….not… she’s…like my little sister!”_

_Kita shot him a sideways glance then closed his eyes for a second. Aran and Akagi exchanged confused looks, and Osamu just hid a snort behind a fake cough._

_“Ah…” Koyama nodded and glanced back at Yuki, making her way to the court “She’s… cute…”_

_“I guess…” Aratake shrugged as if nothing happened “Nice legs a little too muscular around the arm area for me…”_

_“Knock it off you two…” Yukimura said, slapping both of them on the back of their heads, “I thought yer two were interested in the game…”_

_“Yeah,” Aratake grinned and watched as the referee blew the whistle. Setter Miko Ogashi jump serving, her long ponytail flipping with her movements “The game…”_

_He paused then continued …so in which quarter are they?”_

_“Volleyball is played in sets you buffoon!” the captain slapped the back of his heads again and turned to Kita, asking, “I suppose they’re in their second…out of three?”_

_“You play up to five sets in the finals….” Kita calmly explained, “Our girls have won the first two… however, if they’re lucky win the third one the game will be over…”_

_“They do look pretty exhausted already!” Yukimura commented, “Kobe is a strong rival…my cousin used to play in the team, she graduated last year…a tough opponent good in offense right?”_

_“Yes, “Kita nodded and watched Madoka from Kobe spiked the ball right between Saito and Hana but revived by Yuki, who’d roll dived for it yelling out for Miko._

_“Nice receive!” Akaagi complimented, nodding approvingly, “Damn she’s upping her game in every set!”_

_“Okay Koyama…I can totally see the appeal of babe number four now!” Aratake commented, earning another slap by Yukimura._

_Back on the court, the third set was very close once again. With Kobe firing up their attacks even quicker than before, Yuki was practically running around on the court, covering up one touches, and missed receives by other defiance players._

_However, it was 12 to 11 and a time out called by Kobe when Kita stood up and told the boys, “It’s time to warm up for our game…the girls got it covered…!”_

_“More like Yu got them covered,” Osamu glanced at Yuki, gulping down water so fast it spilled on her shirt a little.“If she keeps up like that she’ll be no good if they play up to five sets…. she didn’t eat much this morning…. ah”_

_Miko and Saito who’d appeared behind Yuki forced the girl to sit down and shoved a banana into her hands._

_“She’ll be fine…” Atsumu said with little enthusiasm to get out of his seat, “Bet she’s gonna be up and ready to cheer us on?”_

_“Yer already lost all yer money on that bet yer had with Suna,” Osamu commented and pushed Atsumu to make him move quicker._

_“Don’t push me!” the older twin grumbled and glanced back at the court where Yuki pulled up her kneepads once more and immediately dove after another pancaking over the ground._

_“One more that was a nice receive!” Akaagi patted his shoulder as he libero passes “Yer girl…sorry yer sister got skill!”_

_The short libero consistently kept pushing Atsumu towards the exit of the bleachers._

_Yuki’s legs were burning, and she was panting. Damn, Kobe was getting better with every set, and their own team’s morale was getting even lower. Miko and Saito had practically forced the banana down Yuki’s throat. Although she was low on carbs but still with the water splashing around in her stomach, she felt a little sick._

_“Curse you Madoka,” she muttered under her breath as the ball hit her burning forearms once more with such a force, she was sure they would be red under her arm guards._

_Their team rotated, and Yuki ran back to the reserve players who already handed her water and a towel._

_“Yer need to sit down and rest Hokkyoku,” Suzuna, one of her teammates, said, pointing towards the ground “Ya need some leg massages?”_  
  
_“I’m fine,” Yuki muttered as bent wipe the sweat off her thighs, “but thanks Suzuna.”_

_“Coach Yagi, is sending you dirty looks again” Suzuna commented “Yer really got on his last nerve with that comment of yers…. but yer weren’t wrong…. been keepin’ yer promise.”_

_“Not the only promise I want to keep today,” Yuki mumbled and glanced at the bleachers to where her dad had previously sat. Atsumu and Tsumu and the upperclassmen from boys’ volleyball club weren’t there either, probably prepping for their own game that must start soon._

_We’re gonna go to Kyoto for Summer Finals together! She thought, Tsumu, Samu and me…though on different teams, I’m gonna make my dad proud and I’ll defend this team._

_“Hokkyoku get in!” Coach Yagi yelled as once again, “Remember yer the defense… don’t mess up!”_

_Yuki jogged down on the court again, glancing at the scoreboard 14 to 16 for Kobe…they were leading._

_“Cap! Miko” Yuki said, waving Saito and the setter towards her “Let’s confuse them…next time I receive I’m gonna overhand toss it for yer two to spike, let’s alternate it for a bit to score some points and get back in the lead”_

_“Sure you can do that?” Miko asked._

_“As long as I jump from behind the line I’m allowed to set” Yuki said, “Can’t do it for long though… they’ll figure it out…”_

_“Alright Yagi won’t like experiments but … let’s try” Saito said and quickly passed on the message to the others._

_And it did work. It confused the hell out of the other team when the Vixen’s defense seemingly slowed down. Yuki wasn’t running after every received ball anymore, and Miko instead covered the first impact._

_15 to 16, 16 to 16 and 16-17, 17-17. 18-17_

_The confusion worked Inarizaki was back in the lead._

_Yuki was joggin’ off the court again when Kobe called for a time out, so she stayed close to the coach’s bench._

_“Yer tricks we nice and all Hokkyoku, but yer overhand tosses were sloppy…let the setters, players who can actually pull ’em off do them…. stay in the god damn back row stop being cocky” he spat, glaring at the ash brown-haired libero._

_“Yes…sir...,” Yuki mumbled, not sharing a glance with her teammates looking at the coach in disbelieve as he started to nag Miko for her sloppy receives._

_“When Akane and you switch the next time… let’s do it one more time on the second serve,” Saito whispered, “once more…”_

_Yuki nodded and watched her team back on the field. Rolling her ankles, her calves still pulsating from the impact of her last jump, hot and itchy under her knee guards._

_18-17, 18-18, 18-19, 19-19_

_She needed to get back in—High-fived Akane as they passed each other and got in position._

_Right now, Miko, Saito, and Hana were in the front. Tall like a wall… tall enough, it was difficult for Yuki to see beyond them. Somewhere on the other side of the net were the spikers from Kobe waiting to score. The victory was close…so damn close she could almost taste it on her tongue._

_The thought of it made her gulp, feeling a squeeze on her throat as the whistle sounded and somewhere the setter prepped to set the ball. A millisecond to recognize that the service ace was a jump floater._

_Another for Yuki to realize that she standing way too far behind, so she jumped, and a little diagonally, fist outstretched to receive the ball._

_Her body fell forward, chest hitting the floor first before she felt the impact on her fist and yelled, “COVER!”_

_As she slipped on the ground with a high pitched squeaky noise that let her know that her thighs were dragging’ over the gym floor._

_Yuki pushed herself off the floor and ignored the pain in her thighs, another floor burn, and the hot feeling on her left ankle that bent weirdly when she had suddenly jumped forward._

_The ball had flown up for Miko to drop it over the net directly, practically laughing at the blocker’s faces._

_“Nice cover Yu…,” Saito said, patting her shoulders and looked down on her thighs “Yer good?”_

_“Yeah, those damn kneepads keep sliding down…” Yuki ignored the pain in her legs “Are we doing this?”_

_“Yup!” Saito said and gave a signal to the rest of the players._

_20-19_

_Kobe once more served a normal one this time…. easy to get Yuki thought but shook her head…no…Miko…Miko would get it and watched from her peripheral vision how the setter ran towards the ball and got low to dig it._

_Too low and the pass will have too much impact, Yuki thought, her body moving instinctively._

_Turning sideways so she could reach the ball better._

_“LEFT!” Saito yelled out as Yuki jumped, glancing if she was still behind the line. She threw her arms up, pointing her outstretched arms at the ball that was flying towards her._

_Damn, it was shorter than she had anticipated. Yuki changed her position, bending her upper body a little to toss the ball._

_She came down on the side of her left foot, a sharp pain shooting up her leg._

_But focused instead on Saito, who whipped her arm back to hit the ball._

_Yuki glanced behind her in horror, realizing that on the other side of the net, Kobe’s libero received the ball, which was now flying around to their side._

_Damn it, she realized she needed to hurry up to the back row._

_Being shorter than the others, she had to take faster or simply more strides._

_One step...two steps._

_Ignore the feeling in her ankle, the burning of her thighs, that her damn knee pad slipped again._

_Pancake or do a rolling receive?_

_Her heart was pounding in her chest as sweat ran down her back._

_She hesitated less than a millisecond and jumped._

_Stretching out all her limbs to make her just a little leaner, pointing her toes in her shoes, made the pain in her ankle shoot up into her leg._

_She instinctively bent her leg to take another step and heard a pop._

_A loud pop._

_The sound coming from her left knee._

_Or was it more like a small snap?_

_Her mind was playing tricks on her…. Maybe it was the beat of the Inarizaki drums or her beating heart._

_“GET IT!”_

_Yuki screamed out as the volleyball pressed into her outstretched fist and flew towards Miko when Yuki suddenly felt the sweat dripping and chills running down her spine._

_Something was wrong,_

_something was hurting_

_…but the sound of the drums was making her head go fuzzy._

_Or was it the adrenalin in her body?_

_Yuki dropped, not with her chest first, as she anticipated._

_Her leg, the left one bent, connected to the hard ground knee first._

_She heard someone yell, was it Miko had they scored?_

_What was happening and why the heck was her body burning up and getting cold at the same time?_

_Did they score? Was another attack coming? Yuki had to make sure and turned her head, only to realize that her forehead had just made an impact with the flattened ground._

_Making her damn head pound even more…. why couldn’t those stupid drums stop making this noise?_

_Madoka Ikuno had just witnessed Yuki doing an incredible save and Inarizaki trying to snatch another point._

_Not with Kobe…their libero deflected the ball for Madoka to spike, and she, hungry for the win, jumped and spiked and at the same time saw her childhood best friend on the ground, not moving._

_“YUKI!” Madoka yelled out and started running, ignoring that the ref hadn’t whistled for a time out._

_The others didn’t notice either, too focused on the game. Only when Madoka’s spike slammed on Inarizaki’s side of the court, and there was no libero there to receive the heads whipped around._

_“SHIT!” Miko was there first and tried to move the libero “What happened?”_

_“I didn’t see….” Saito panted but stopped as she looked down on to Yuki’s knee, “COACH!”_

_“Crap! It’s the kneecap!” Madoka knelt down, horrified, and yelled, “GET AN ETM!”_

_GET AN ETM!_

_The piercing sound of a whistle and too many damn noises ran in her ears._

_Yuki’s eyes fluttered as she felt hot and cold tingles running up and down her left leg increasing in intensity every time it made her feel sick._

_“Yuki…are ye conscious? How’s the Pain?” Saito next to her said touching her at her hip._

_“Pain? What pain?” Why the heck was Saito blurry._

_She tried to get up, but hands, many hands pushed her down. What the heck…they had a game to play._

_“She still hasn’t come down the adrenaline rush!” Madoka said._

_Why was she on this side…had she decided to suddenly transfer schools in the middle of the game?_

_Yuki shook her head, disorientated as she was tried to swat the hands on her shoulders way and instantly felt a sharp pain in her leg._

_“SHIT!” She screamed and now really felt like throwing up “IT’ hurts”_

_She barely realized the people surrounding her, all black spots, and some green and yellow mixed in them._

_The music had stopped, thankfully it was silent…. but too quiet except the pounding in her head, her knee, her ankle._

_“Let us through!” some yelled, piercing the silence, and firm hands grabbed her “Hokkyoku-san… I’m Paramedic Yang…you’ve dislocated your kneecap… I’ll need to pop it back in before we treat you further…”_

_“But the game!” Yuki complained._

_“I’m afraid you won’t be able to play today,” the paramedic said and turned to his assistant, “Easy now…. ready one two…”_

_Yuki cursed as the two paramedics popped back her knee._  
_Sweat, tears, or both running down her face._

_“What happened,” the assistant asked the others standing around while Paramedic Yang asked her the same._

_It was hard to focus, but her brain somehow managed to tell him fragments._

_Came down on my ankle, shooting Pain, heard a pop, impact of left leg…and head._

_“We need to get ya to the Hospital for checkup!” the medic confirmed, “Yer leg is already starting to swell. We have an ambulance ready on sight…. are yer parents here kid?”_

_“No my dad’s at work…no need to disturb him,” Yuki hissed the pounding in her head still consitant.._

_“Anyone else we can contact?” he asked, and Yuki shook her head. That sure didn’t stop the aching._

_“What about the Miyas Yuki?” Saito asked._

_“They’re watching the boys and I don’t want Tsumu and Samu to be distracted. Don’t call them. I’ll call Shizue-san and Isamu-san once I get out of the hospital,” Yuki said, having her mind fixed on it “Don’t worry I’ll be out in no time…”_

_All of them knew that this was a lie, but they didn’t say a word since tears were streaming down Yuki’s face._

_“Can’t you do something about the pain?” Madoka asked the paramedics that were getting ready to transfer Yuki onto a stretcher._

_“No meds, I’m afraid… we’ll try to ice…it…kid…where are yer things?”_

_“Got ’em here!” Suzuna had run to grab her bag and jacket “I can carry them.”_  
  
_“You won’t do that,” Coach Yagi said “Hokkyoku is injured, this is an inconvenience so you need to step up and get in the game! Yer switching out for Hana permanently for the rest of the game. She failed to receive that last spike. Get her out of here so we can resume playing”_

_The teams looked at Coach Yagi in shock, who was impatiently tapping his foot._

_“Update me when you win…oh and about the boys too…” Yuki hissed as the paramedic hoisted her onto the stretcher and pulled a blanket up to her shoulders “Also about the boys’ team… we’ll see each other at the award ceremony later today…alright…. stand tall and make me proud…”_

_Tears welled up in her eyes as she bit her lip and quickly covered her eyes with her palms._

_She didn’t face her team as she was carried out of the gym._  
_…_

Shiga Tomoya also had covered his eyes as he was carried out on a stretcher. Yuki barely noticed how she’d slammed close her bento and was biting her lip. She barely noticed how Atsumu’s arm on her shoulder had increased in pressure. She didn’t catch his concerned glance towards her biting her lip.

“I…um…” she muttered, laughing nervously “I forgot…I needed to bring back this one sheet to that one…”

Yuki stood up, grabbing her backpack and putting the bento on her seat and said to nobody, “I’ll see you guys at base camp in a bit…. make sure that Sunarin eats his lunch…give him some of mine too I’m afraid I’m too full…”

“Yu…wai…” Atsumu said, stretching out his, but Yuki was already passing him and Kita and hopped down the stairs, barely noticing that her teammates were looking at her back. Once she was out of sight, she picked up the pace. Running, even though she felt like throwing up, and she felt her knee pulsating with every step. It was like she was feeling all the pain of that day in June once more.

She found herself in a bathroom and locked herself in a stall, trying to control her breathing and the tears that somehow were streaming down her face again. But it didn’t help, she got out of the stall tried splashing cold water on her face….it didn’t help, only smeared the mascara she was wearing. This didn’t help either.

…

_The cleanliness and silence of the hospital room was a stark contrast to the loud and colorful Gym._

_“I’m afraid your ACL is torn and maybe the Meniscus…. we can’t tell until the swelling goes down… your ankle twisted, but the tendons are intact Thank goodness you don’t have a concussion, but you still need to rest to make sure.”_

_“How quickly can I get back on the court?”_

_“Hokkyoku-san I’m afraid that you will need to step out of the game for a little while. We’ll need to operate…”_

_“Why can’t you do it now? Then I can recover…the Spring tournament is after the summer holidays...”_

_The girl in the hospital looked at her father, then at her doctor who answered._

_“I’m afraid we can’t operate before the swelling goes down and those floor burns and the ankle injury…so not before two weeks…maybe three."_

_“What am I supposed to do until then?”_

_“Luckily, you do not have to stay at the hospital beforehand. Rest and walk and crutches that you can do from the comfort of your come. School is out of the picture for one week, luckily the term is ending, and I’m sure you can go there for exams”_

_“….I can go for exams….great”_

_“Hokkoyku-san the summer break is in three weeks. I think we’ll schedule an appointment with a full check up on the last day and discuss the surgery’s details then. You’ll have a summer break to rest up and heal nicely.”_

_“So no summer training camp, no summer festival visit with the team….”_

_“Yuki…it’s important that you recover,” her father said._

_“And after that…when will I be able to play again…?”_

_“Hokkyoku-san…If you are lucky, and it’s just a minor tear, you won’t be able to play for the next six months.”_

_“Six months…”_

_“Hokkyoku?”_

_…._

Breathe in and out slowly…steadily…what was the thing Atsumu had told her….

5 things…you can see, mirror, tiles, paper towels, soap, my reflection.

5 things you can smell, the cleaning supplies, damp paper towels, soap, sweat, my perfume.

4 things you can hear, water droplets, the Ac, distant sound of people outside…my breathing…slow and steady

4 things you can feel the sink, the water on my face, the fabric of my track jacket…. my heartbeat.

She had calmed down a bit, washed he face again, fixed the messy mascara and decided to get out of the bathroom and got to base camp after all.

“If yer stayed there just a tad longer I’d come in and get ya,” Atsumu was leaning at the wall across the bathroom door. He must have followed her. He pushed off the wall and, with quick strides, covered the distance between Yuki and him quickly. He ran his eyes over her, hands in his pockets “Yer better?”

“Yes…” she mumbled, not looking at her feet instead and tugged at the hems of her sleeves.

“I told ya before…. No need to be embarrassed…” he said and took his hands out of his pokets, stroking the back of his neck. Atsumu hesitated before putting a hand in the nape of her neck, pulling her towards him and leaned down down to press his lips on top of her head, letting them rest there “I’m here fer ya!”

His familiar scent embracing her, she buried her face in Atsumu's chest, mumbling into the fabric of his tracksuit.

"Mnfshhff!"

"Yer vocabulary astonished me,” he chuckled stroking her hair, his chest vibrating against Yuki’s nose.

Yuki managed to smile a little into his chest.

<img src="

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys for all the support in the last chapter. <3
> 
> Thought this chapter would be perfect to upload on a Friday the 13th. (｀∇´ゞ
> 
> Sooo, i am pretty excited about the new episode coming out today. ⊂(・▽・⊂)  
> Are you just as excited as I am for ? 
> 
> Eventhough, daylight saving is kicking my butt these days last week was quite nice. I got work done and even got some exercise. I became so suspicious and let my guard down....bought some churros on my way back from work....delicious but I forgot that I am lactose intolerant....  
> Oh well... (╯ಠ‿ಠ)╯︵┻━┻


	10. She came up with one idea…. guilt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I've noticed that I made a timing error in the last chapters.  
> In Spring Inter high you play one game on day one, one on day two and on day three you have two matches.
> 
> Oopsie daisy
> 
> Let's ignore that fact for plot reasons and change it into  
> DAY 1 -1 (which the team just had)  
> DAY 2-2

It was only when Yuki, obviously distressed by the injury of Tomoya Shiba, ran off the bleachers. Atsumu pressed her bento box into Suna’s lap. The middle blocker of the Inarizaki Volleyball team looked away from the giant player Ushijima.

“You think we should go after them?” Ginjima asked from the row behind him, and Osamu, sitting next to Suna, shook his head.

“Atsumu got it covered…” he said, staring after his twin. “When Yu gets anxious like this he is the only one who can calm her down…”

“This happens often then?” Yuto wondered.

“As far as I know she had a major panic attack three times these past six months,” Osamu sighed, “but there some little things here, , and there…no need to worry about it…we got it covered.”

Rintarō glances at the grey-haired spiker next to him. Osamu tried to play it off cool as he did so often. Still, underneath, Suna saw how agitated he was about what just happened. Although Atsumu was a little more impulsive, Osamu did share the same DNA and shared the same concern when it came to anything Yuki.

“Calm down, “Suna said, glancing at Osamu’s bouncing leg. “You said that Atsumu got it covered.”

Osamu glanced at him, mouth wide open, trying to retort something but didn’t as usual backed up the fight with Suna, and blinked back to the court in confusion.

“Now that you are focused on something else than our probable next opponents…you should eat your lunch,” Kita’s voice reached Suna’s ears. The middle blocker promptly started eating more than just rice from his bento.

“Once Suna is finished eating… we’ll pack up, leave for the hotel, and benefit from our game today ending so early. Rest up, study and relax. Go to bed early, get your sleep,” Kita then added towards his team. “There is no use hypothesizing We’ll only encounter Shiratorizawa if both teams win the first match tomorrow...”

“Yes…” the others answered in unison, and Gin started to quietly cheer on Suna, who ate shooting the silver-haired first-year dirty side-eyes.

They watched the second set from the Shiratorizawa Match. Wakatoshi Ushijima scored several more points before the Inarizaki team got up and made their way back to base camp to join the coaches and pack up things.

Third years in front planning the warm-up, Yūto and Gin following discussing the game they just saw.  
Suna and Osamu were the last ones in the group, the twin surprisingly walking slower than usual.

“Kita-san,” Osamu exclaimed halfway there, “I’ll join y’all in a bit… I’d like to get something to drink from the vending machine.”

“Make sure ya join us quickly.” Kita said, glancing back. “We’ll have to talk about the upcoming team…”

“Yes…” Osamu said and turned to jog towards the vending machine in the hallway.

  
Suna silently decided to follow Osamu. He had already gotten a sports drink and a peach-flavored iced tea and was now glancing at the snack options in a second vending machine.

“Oh…. yer here…” he said, glancing at Suna, and decided for a Yakisoba bun. “Want to get somethin’ too?”

“If you’re buying,” Suna shrugged and pointed towards the sports drink, “I’ll take one of these…”

“I did not offer to buy…but here,” Osamu handed the drink he was already holding over, and pushed the button for another.

“Getting this for Yuki?” Suna asked and watched as Osamu grabbed the food from the vending machine. The silver-haired spiker froze in his movement then laughed nervously. “That obvious?”  
“Well…” Suna analyzed, “I’ve noticed that you always fuzz over people by buying or making them food…the making food is a theory…since I’ve never seen you do it…”

Osamu kept eyeing Suna from the corner of his eyes, wanting to retort something but sighed instead “So…it is obvious to read?”

“If you pay attention…” Suna uttered and had to smirk a little “You try to be discreet about these things but honestly…I can read you like an open book”

Osamu snorted and avoided his eyes “Yeah right…”

“I do….” Suna started and stared at his teammate, “You are worried about Yuki’s little panic attack just as Atsumu is…but you don’t show that openly…it still bothers you so you try to make it up with little gestures like getting her food. This happens often enough for it to be a habit…. you keeping track of her eating properly. I don’t know the reasons…, and I frankly don’t care….”

Osamu huffed “Yeah right, you totally don’t care!”

“Bite me, Miya!” Suna shot back, annoyed, and took his phone out of his pocket, and started texting.

The two of them walked side by side back to base camp.

Osamu cleared his throat and started up a conversation.  
“Soo…Shiratorizawa huh? Ushijima will be a problem”

“Yeah…but that red haired wiggly man will be a pain too…” Suna nodded and absentmindedly conversing with his teammate.

Osamu, however, was still a little nervous around Rintarō. Ever since that one time he and Suna hung around on that Sunday, he was on edge when it came to the middle blocker, and Osamu could not put his mind to why….It started off well…quite, and they had a little fun at the Arcade and get to know Rintaro a bit better. He knew that Rintaro had specifically been scouted for Inarizaki and moved to Amagasaki for this reason. He had not known that Suna lived alone in a small apartment complex while his family was back in the Aichi prefecture.

He guessed that it was because even after almost a year in the Volleyball club together, they only started to get to know each other. While Gin and Yūto were more outgoing, Suna was quiet, except for snarky comments, and stayed to himself.

When the two of them caught up to their team at base camp, they found that most of the group was all packed up and ready. Atsumu and Yuki were sitting on the ground, leaning against the wall, heads close to each other, watching a live broadcast of one of the volleyball matches.

Osamu heard the sound of a camera clicking next to him. Yet, when he looked at Suna’s hands, they were in his jacket pocket, and he was looking around bored as usual.  
Yuki must have heard the noise too, and turned to smile at the two of them a little too enthusiastically, obviously embarrassed by her outburst.

“Hey…there ya are!”

“Got you some iced tea, and a yakisoba bun,” Osamu said as he dropped the food item in her lap.

“Sweet Yakisoba bun!” Atsumu said and opened the wrapper with his teeth.  
“That’s not for you moron!” Osamu yelled, and the twins started bickering

Yuki rolled her eyes at their antic then looked up at Suna “Did you eat?”

“Yes…, and your leftovers too…” Suna shrugged. “You cool?”

She nodded shyly, and Rintarō didn’t push further.

  
He moved to gather his own things and was happy that he was quicker than the still bickering twins who got a scolding look from Kita.

After the coaches joined them, they finally suited up, zipping the track jackets up, wrapped scarves around their neck, put on masks, and went outside to walk to the bus.

“Alright then,” Rintarō said as the team started loading the baggage into the bus “Sensei, Kita-san I’m off then?”

“Ah yes, I forgot.” Coach Oomi nodded “Make sure to give me a call once you’ve arrived.”

“Arrived?” Atsumu spoke up “Where? What ‘ya doin’ Rin-rin?”

“Don’t call me that…” Suna deadpanned and adjusted the straps of his backpack “I have family here in Tokyo, and I’ll be visiting them….”

“What you’re staying with them?” Atsumu complained, “NO fair!”  
“He is visiting them you oaf!” Osamu said, “He never said anything about staying.”

“The better twin is correct” Suna said and turned around “See ya!”  
“HEY I’M THE BETTER TWIN!”

Yuki sighed as she stretched out on her hotel room’s bed after changing into a new pair of sweatpants and a woolen turtleneck sweater. She was thoroughly exhausted from the day and wanted nothing more than taking a nap, but she knew that there was work to do. Besides, sleeping now wouldn’t work anyway as her mind was racing despite her body feeling tired.

Kita had ordered everyone to stay in their rooms for at least half an hour to cool down and take a shower. Then they could meet up in the tatami common room of the hotel, where they’ve had their meeting last night. He’d mentioned the exams coming up and that there was no excuse for lacking behind in schooling.

So Yuki had already started sketching out a study plan and looked at the clock every five minutes or so. She kind of hated the fact that she would always be alone in a hotel room while the boys shared one. She wouldn’t mind the company; it would keep her distracted from racing thoughts. The group chat was silent, as well.

Five minutes before the hour ended, Yuki finally had enough and got up, packed her learning supplies in a separate bag, and quickly texted the group chat.

**🦊🏐InarizakiVBC🏐🦊**

**Yuki:** _Hey, guys, just heading down to do the laundry. Is there anything besides the jerseys that need to be cleaned? I can come by your room and collect it._

 **❤️Tsumu😎✨:** _YUUUUKIIII I MISS YOU ITS BEEN AGES!_

 **💚Samu🍙✨:** _IT HAS NOT EVEN BEEN AN HOUR, YOU IDIOT!_

 **❤️Tsumu😎✨:** _STOPP YELLING AT ME OVER THE PHONE!_

 **💚Samu 🍙 ✨** : _STOP BEING AN IDIOT ON YOUR PHONE!_

_SHOULD I YELL AT YOU IN REAL LIFE?_

_GET OUT, OF THE BATHROOM, YOU BAFOON YOU’VE BEEN THERE FOR OVER 20 MINUTES._

**Akagi-senpai🤗 💫 :** _Atsumu… .you’re on your phone….in the bathroom?_

 **😄Aran-senpai:** _….._

 **💚Samu🍙✨:** _Gross, right?_

 **❤️Tsumu😎✨:** _I’M NOT GROSS! Yuuuu defend meee! I’m not gross, right?_

 **Kita-san✨:** _Thank you for doing the laundry, Yuki-san. As of now, we don’t have anything._

 **Gin😐** : _Us neither!_

 **Yuki:** _Alright, I’ll be on my way… I’ll meet you guys later in the common room._

 **❤️Tsumu😎✨:** _I’m not gross, right?_  
_Right guys, right?_  
_Hey!!!!_

 **Kita-san✨** : _I’ll be in the common room now. Please mind your manners, we don’t want the hotel staff to be complaining about the noise._

 **❤️Tsumu😎✨** : _Yes, Kita-san._

Grinning to herself, Yuki zipped open the gym bag with the jerseys that needed to be washed. And boy, sure they did. She tried not to breathe as she turned the jerseys and shorts inside out. Dumping every piece in the washing machine and putting the active detergent in, thankfully, smelled a lot nicer than sweat.

Then grabbed the mesh bag with all the knee and arm pads, tossed them in too and decided to breathe again. The smell lasted a little in the laundry room. Yuck!  
The ash brown haired girl set the washing machine and a timer on her phone when she estimated the wash cycle would be done and headed to the common room as quickly as she could.

She slipped out of her shoes and slid open the door to the tatami room, where the second years were already huddles around the table. Kita and Omimi drinking tea while discussing their notes on Japanese literature. Akaagi and Aran were sneaking glances and grinning at their over philosophical views.

The rest of the team sat in pairs of two. Gin and Yūto hunched over what looked like Science, and the twins were…. fighting over who had the better translation in English.

Yuki quietly sat down close to the door, against the wall, and took out her book they were reading in literature. Since the laundry would be done any minute, it was probably better not to bother the others in their study session and focus on her own work.

Entranced by the plot of her novel, Yuki forgot her surroundings and didn’t pick up the noises that came from the boys. The twin kept bickering and were louder once in a while, but a glance from Kita was enough to shut them up again.

There was, however, this tension in the room. Restlessness and the quiet didn’t help matters.  
When Yuki’s alarm ran half an hour later, she put her book away and excused herself once more, not noticing the glance that Yūto shot her as she exited the room.

She had barely reached the laundry room when her brunette teammate called out to her.

“Yuki-san…please wait up…”

“Ah, Yūto-kun, “she said, slowing her pace “Do ya need anything?”

“I thought I could help ya,” he grinned and flashed her a nervous smile “I’ll be quicker if we’ll hang up the laundry together.”

“Thanks” Yuki genuinely smiled but noticed the nervousness in Yūto’s voice. “But doing the laundry is not the reason why you came up to talk to me is it…”

“Yeah…” he said, scratching the back of his head. “Sorry…but there is a thing I’d ask of you.”

He held open the door for her as they entered the room. The Inarizaki Manager quickly unloaded the machine and started hanging up the freshly cleaned jerseys before Yūto continued.

“See…. it’s barely three in the afternoon and from what it looks like neither Kita-san nor any of the coaches plan on taking us to train in a gym…. some bullshit about resting before the two games or so..” he started grabbing a jersey and enthusiastically flipped it outside in again.

“Yeah, but I don’t think they’re that wrong in that point…the matches tomorrow are very close in time we’ll only have two hours in between,” Yuki agreed “Ya guys shouldn’t overwork yer muscles too much.”

“Yeah, Yeah…I get that but studying for the next 6 hours and then going to sleep ain’t gonna help it….” Yūto declared, “It’s barely been an hour and the twins already tried to kill each other at least three times.”

“So you want me to do something about them?” Yuki wondered, staring at the pinch server.

“Not necessarily about them, that would be a great bonus…. but…I thought” he hesitated, “That you maybe could convince Kita-san that we…can go out explore the city or something.”

Yuki paused at looked at her class fellow in wonder, “Why do you think that I could convince Kita-san to change his mind.”

“He kind of listens to you sometimes…” Yūto huffed, “And besides Gin and I have been thinking about that family analogy…if the first years are the so called kids of the team…. you’re the favorite.”  
“I’m not the favorite,” Yuki laughed.

“Well…at least he doesn’t reprimand you like he does with the rest of us!”

“Because you guys keep on making trouble at practice, remember how you had that dare of who can jump over the net and got out the gymnastics team’s vault and-“  
“Kita made us clean the gym floor by using small brushes…yeah…” Yūto said, “But he excused you…”  
“Because I didn’t take part in that idiocrasy….”

“Only because you still had the leg brace on” he muttered, then pouted and bowed a little “PLeeeeeease, you don’t want to get bored either do you? Just ask them if we can get some food in the city or something”

“St-op—Stop bowing, you idiot!” Yuki said and blushed a little “Fine….. I’ll come up with something… I can’t guarantee….but only if you help me finish this laundry quickly.

The laundry was never hung up quicker before. On their way back, Yuki contemplated how in the world she could ask Kita-senpai about sightseeing. She came up with one idea…. guilt-tripping and felt a little horrible about it…. but Yūto was right.

There would be no way to stay for 6 hours in the tatami room without game consoles before the twins would kill each other or would be murdered by Kita.

First, she, however, sat back down on her spot. She saw from the corner of her eyes that Yūto was whispering eagerly into Gin’s ears, who himself went over to talk to the twins in hushed tones. Soon all four of her year mates glanced eagerly at her. Shooting her thumbs up and nods of encouragement.

Akaagi was the only one of the third years who noticed with a confused smile the commotion. He thought that either the boys were trying to eagerly cheer on Yuki reading her novel or, (which was probably more realistic) that they were encouraging her to do something.

Yuki’s phone buzzed

 **❤️Tsumu😎✨:** _GO, ASK HIM!_

Yuki shot a glare towards the blonde twin, who nodded eagerly and typed.

**❤️Tsumu😎✨** : _Samu says he’ll treat you to snacks when we’re in the city._

Osamu who’d glanced at his twin’s phone, gasped and took out his own and typed.

 **💚Samu🍙✨** : _I DID NOT PROMISE THAT!_  
_But please ask_  
_ <3 Maybe I will? Don't tell Tsumu tho_  
_Please!!!_

She sighed and took all her courage and spoke up.

  
“Ano…….uhm…Kita-senpai?”

The rest of the third years looked up from their books, suspicious at the sweet tone Yuki was using. Crap….she was in big trouble….not going back now.

“Yes, Yuki-san.” Kita said calmly, “Is something the matter?”  
“I was just wondering…” Yuki mumbled and bit the inside of her cheek before continuing, “Is there no way that we can get out and explore the city a little?”

Kita looked at her calmly, then his eyes glanced over at the other first-years who were suspiciously focused on their work. Atsumu so much that he didn’t realize that he was holding his English Book upside down.

“I mean…” Yuki quickly said, so the silence was not too long, “I know we should be focused on tomorrow and I think it would be nice for us to get a clear head. The Tokyo Tower is nearby…maybe we can get something light to eat in the city…you know.”

“I don’t think that distracting yourself would be a good idea-” Kita stated and turned over a page in his book.

“Yeah, you’re probably right…” Yuki said, nodding. Okay…. step number two. “I just thought it would be a great bonding experience for us first years. Since we’ve never been out on our own before beside practice…we will surely contact Sunarin to join us if he wants.”

“That’s a nice effort but you can bond without getting lost in the city…” Kita said, “What if you have an accident…”

“That’s completely true” Yuki sighed….and cursed herself…. she had to use her last resort “It’s only….that the twin promised me that they’d get me something for my birthday in the city…you know and I don’t think we’ll have the time on any other day.”

She dropped the bombshell. Gin and Yuto looked confused, as did Akagi, Aran, and Omimi, the latter glancing at Kita. The twins furrowed their brows, not remembering having made such promises. Kita paused and also looked slightly confused.

“I didn’t know that it was your birthday today Yuki-san” he stated, quickly glancing at the twins.

“Oh…” Yuki quickly interjected, “It wasn’t today…it was on the 5th actually…”

“Wait…” Omimi said, “Your birthday was last week and you didn’t tell us then?”

“We had practice that day…” Yuki waved her hand, suddenly noticing that all of the club members looked at her in slight shock and revelation.

“Exactly!” Akaagi said, “We saw each other that day and we didn’t congratulate you or got you a gift of anythin’! We’re such bad sempais!”

“Oh you don’t need to get me anything” Yuki laughed nervously and shook her hands in front of her body. She then caught Akaagi’s wink and stare that was screaming I’m tryin’ ta help ya out here.

“Isn’t that right Captain!” Akaagi turned to his white-haired teammate, “Shin-kun, we’re upper-class man and don’t even know when our precious little manager has her birthday…. shame on us…right Captain.”

Kita’s eye twitched barely before quietly saying, “Michinari…. I get it…” that alone shut Akaagi up.  
Kita looked at Omimi, who shrugged his shoulders and returned to his book but glanced over the edge. Then Kita shot a glance at the twins, who immediately looked mortified.  
“You two knew that day that it was her birthday right?”

“Yes Kita-san!” the two yelled in unison.

“It would have been nice to be informed about that…” Kita started, then closed his eyes “I apologize for not remembering Yuki….I guess we can make an exception today….but”

He added before any of the first-year boys could jump up and declare victory.

“You’ll contact Rintaro, he knows his way around Tokyo… you’ll share your location in our group chat and stay in together as a group. Go to the Tokyo Tower…be back at 8 sharp for dinner and strategy planning.”

“Yes, Senpai we will,” Yuki smiled and gathered her materials “We’ll make sure of that.”

“Atsumu, Osamu…” Kita then said, watching the twins rush to gather their own study supplies, “Get her something decent will ya?”  
“Yes, senpai.” They grumbled at shot an annoyed glance at Yuki, who felt smug.

At least she would get another birthday present from the boys this way…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tourist shenanigans in the next Chapter.
> 
> It had been quite the two weeks for me with uni assignments. As for now all our seminars are online and most of them are done asynchronous, meaning that you have to cover both at-home assignments and work you would usually do in class at the same time. UGH!
> 
> Then one of my Performing Arts teachers, whom I had a class with in July suddenly reminded us that in order to get credit points for the seminar we have to hand in a written assignment (she forgot it herself). So now months later we have to hand in the assignment and guess what it's due on December 5th. (╯ಠ‿ಠ)╯︵┻━┻
> 
> Last but not least, is THE SUN EVEN A REAL THING THESE DAYS? Daylight saving here in Germany is kicking my butt. It stays dark until like 8.30 Am and the sun goes down at 4.30PM!!! 
> 
> But the Haikyuu Episodes keep me going and there is coffee of course ✿♥‿♥✿.
> 
> Or I'll just imagine Kita-senpai clapping for me like he did in the latest episode. HOW CUTE WAS THAT!!!!!
> 
> I'll try to have the next chapter ready by next week. 
> 
> I also have a TUMBLR account : deguddi
> 
> Thanks for all your support and I'll hope you have a great day/evening/morning :)
> 
> Random Question of the day: Would You Rather Look Like A Potato, Or Feel Like A Potato?


	11. You can’t decide on your own dwarf name Samu

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Inarizaki first years a touring Tokyo.
> 
> Just like usual tourist they decide on their dwarf names and play truth and dare

The second years of the Inarizaki Volleyball team had decided to have a little break themselves. They decided to walk around Shibuya’s neighborhood, where their hotel was looking for a convenient store.

“The first-years are doing all right,” Akaagi said to his classmates as he checked a message send by Suna in the group chat. “Look.”

He held out his phone to Kita and Omimi and showed them the picture of the first-year boys pressing their noses flat on the window of the Tokyo Tower observation deck, the Sky Tree in the background. Suna holding a peace sign into the camera, his expression deadpan as usual.

“They look like they’re having fun.” Kita commented while Omimi zoomed in on the picture. Osamu was shoving his palm against Atsumu’s face to get a better view. Yuki, between them, was squished in the process of stopping the two from fighting.

“The twins seem like they’re fighting again,” he said.

“Nothing unusual then,” Kita sighed and looked ahead, searching for the convenience store sign.

Aran trotted along at the end of the group with his hands in his pocket. “I’m still surprised that you actually let them go Shinsuke. That wasn’t surely just because of Yuki’s birthday was it?”

“I think Yuki made a fair point about group dynamic,” Kita simply said. “And since the twins were getting more and more agitated there was either this option or training at a gym.”

“Which you don’t want to do because?”

“Our muscles need time healing and we’re still stressed from the journey…also the match tomorrow isn’t going to be easy. Both of them.” Kita declared, “I thought keeping their minds busy with school would have worked but they need other sensory stimuli.”

“And you think that letting five fifteen-year-olds roam around in one of the biggest cities in the world is the best stimuli?” Omimi looked at his friend, who showed a rare smile.

“They will not stay this young forever, in about a year or so they’ll be the second years and will have to lead the team…” he sighed. “So they need to learn how to work with each other outside of the court as well.”

“Character building for the little ones…I see” Omimi smiled and nodded. “Trust falls and telling each other secrets…”

“You two do really sound like a married couple” Akaagi grinned and skipped a few steps ahead so his teammates couldn’t reach him. “Atsumu was right about you two being the team’s mom and dad! Oh I have an Idea… let’s do one of these exercises too?”

“Akaagi,” Aran sighed, “You can’t keep yer mouth shut can ya?”

“Dunno what yer mean?” Akaagi laughed then yelled, “Trust fall!”

The first years feeling more like pieces of deep-frozen pizza than tourists in Tokyo had enough of walking around seeing temples and parks. They rejected Atsumu’s idea to visit the Sky tree because it was just another dumb piece of metal.

So they decided to head back to Shinjuku, get some souvenirs, and hit an American Diner, Suna recommended to spend their time there.

They squeezed into a booth at the end of the hall and peeled off of the layers of scarfs and jackets.

Osamu muttered after they got into the booth and shoved Atsumu’s knee because it was touching his. “Mind the space idiot.”

He was squeezed between Suna and his brother on the wall side, the blonde twin snapping back at him, “If you didn’t feel the need to spread out that much, my damn knee wouldn’t touch yers….” Atsumu grumbled and shoved his twin back, so he stumbled against the middle blocker.

“Would you mind not trying to sit in my lap?” Suna grumbled, “Have yer pissing contest sometime else.”

“Why so grumpy Suna” Yūto from across him asked as he passed the menu to Gin and Yuki, who glanced at it curiously.

“Bacon Milkshake…what the hell?” the manager muttered.

“Tastes pretty well if you dip your fries into it,” Suna muttered, having eaten in this restaurant before. “Don’t ask me how…it just does…”

“I’m not sure if it’s such a good idea to eat burgers a day before we have two volleyball matches,” Yuki sighed, handing the menu over to Atsumu.

“Well I’m digging in whose gonna stop us?” Yūto grinned

“Kita,” Gin commented.

“Kita isn’t here?”

“Kita will know…” Yuki agreed with Gin, “He knows everything…”

At the same time, she considered getting two side dishes because she didn’t have to go play two games tomorrow.

“Well, then you just gotta bat yer lashes and use the guilt method once more” Yūto grabbed some peanuts from a bowl in front of him and grinned at Yuki.

She rubbed her forehead, watching Atsumu and Osamu bicker over the menu.

“That’s not going to work again,” she sighed then added exasperated, “Could someone please give Osamu a menu… they’re causing a scene again.”

“Here you go Samu-chan!” Suna shoved his card over and started playing with a peanut, throwing it up and catching it with his mouth.

“I’m actually surprised that it worked…so much that I’m no longer embarrassed to be seen with in public,” Suna said, then paused added her last name, “Hokkyoku.”

“Okay…shall we resort calling us by our first names then?” rose her brows, trying to read the middle blocker.

“Oh no, we’re not there yet,” he shrugged. “I’m just thankful that this meeting gave me an excuse to leave the lovely family meeting.”

“Where did you go anyway?” Gin asked, “You have family here?”

“Yeah, my dad’s sister and her fam’ lovely,” he said dryly. “Ready to order? I’m starving?”

“Didn’t you eat one and a half bento box earlier today?” Osamu wondered string at the green eyes

“Well, funny coming from you Mr. Always-Hungry,” he grinned slightly, then turned back to Yuki, throwing another peanut in the air. “How did you manage guilt tripped Kita again? Atsumu said something about you claiming this to be a team building exercise?”

“Well there was the thing about my claiming that it would be a nice thing for my birthday?”

“Which is today?” Suna wondered and stopping throwing peanuts into the air

“It was on the fifth,” Gin sighed a little guilty “You know, that day we spend the whole day training, had the practice match with the alumni and the third years and made Yuki run around getting our drinks and stuff.”

“You mean typical manager stuff “the ash brown haired girl laughed as she waved it off, “I told ya already, no big deal. We got the outing from it… so.”

She shrugged, she really didn’t care much about not doing anything fancy on her birthday. The dinner at the Miya’s had been good enough. All of them around the Kotatsu eating Nabe and Osamu had baked her a little cake. Her dad even came homer earlier from work that day.

“Yeah, so whaddaya want for your birthday,” Suna asked, flicking another peanut into the air. It missed his mouth, flicked off his chin, and got lost in Osamu’s hair.

Yuki snorted, “You don’t need to get me anything?”

“Why then, do we have to get you something twice!” Osamu said with a pout searching his hair for the peanut.

“Because Kita said so” Yuki grinned at the grey-haired twin and reached over the table to get it out for him.

“Yeah, thanks for throwing us under the bus like that,” Atsumu added, showing the same pout as Osamu.

“Stop complainin’,” Yūto laughed putting the menu down and looked for the waitress “We got an outing out of it! Who cares if you have to get her a gift?”

“My wallet?” Atsumu said, “We already got her a gift on her actual birthday. Why aren’t you guys getting her something?”

“I did just offer to get her something” Suna shook his head.

“Because I don’t want anyone to get me anything,” Yuki chuckled. “Even you two imbeciles don’t need to get me something.”

“You want us to lie to Kita?” Osamu cocked an eyebrow.

“Scared Samu?” his friend pursed her lips, squinting her golden-brown eyes at him.

“Yes, I like to live a long and healthy life thank you very much.”

“And yer sittin’ here orderin’ burgers” Yūto chuckled and waved to the waitress, who came towards them smiling brightly.After they ordered their food, Atsumu suddenly spoke up and claimed, “Fine we’ll get you something…if only to appease Kita…but you just have to get us double the present on our birthday.”

Osamu nodded, agreeing with his brother for once. Yuki shook her head and cocked an eyebrow. “Do I need to remind you how many times I saved yer asses from Shizue-san?”

“Fine,” the twins commented in unison and stared at the girl of the group, who smugly started back.

“Didn’t she just told them that they didn’t need her to get something” Gin whispered at Yūto, who chuckled, watching the stare battle. “How long do you guys know each other again?”

“Six and a half years now?” Yuki calculated without averting her eyes from the twin’s, “It was in summer of the fourth year in grade school.”

“Yeah, and Yuki beat the shit out of Tsumu,” Osamu grinned.

“I hit back plenty of times,” Atsumu yelled, interrupting the staring contest.

“Oi…keep it down on the subway…people are staring,” Gin scolded then added in a whisper, “You hit a girl?”

“He didn’t realize she was one,” Osamu told Yūto, who snickered, “How didn’t you know she was a girl?”

“Because she had short hair…and well she didn’t have the boobs back then genius,” Atsumu said, then realized what he just said out loud. “Oh…I…um… it’s just…you have them now…”

Yuki flushed a little red, painfully aware that the Yūto and Gin were obviously trying to avert their eyes anywhere other than her chest. Osamu started at his brother, probably considering if he could sign him up for adoption abroad.

Meanwhile, Suna loudly crunched a peanut between his teeth and rolled his eyes at his teammates.

Atsumu, on the other hand, started at Yuki’s chest painfully obvious, grasping for words and stuttering.

“There is nothing wrong with them …they seem fine and all…”

Yuki pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. “I don’t know if I should take it as a compliment.”

“I didn’t mean to insult yer-“

“Tsumu?” Osamu sighed and covered his eyes.

“What”

“Shut yer trap,” his twin commented from under his hand.

Yuki glanced around the boys, all flustered and shy. Oh, so confident on the court, her teammates behaved like grade school kids in biology class.

“Guys….” Yuki sighed, “… it’s fine…really don’t make it even more awkward as it already is.”

“Oh yes, I have an idea!” Yūto excitedly said, practically jumping in his seat.

Yuki had the weird suspicion that something was about to get even more awkward.

“Let’s play Truth and dare….you know since Atsumu already shared a secret… we’ll do that too.”

Suna sighed, glancing at the brown-haired pinch server. “Truth and dare? What are you? A middle schooler?”

“Tsk…the only one who resembles a middle school kid is Yuki-chan over there,” Atsumu grinned. “Being so freakin’ small and all.”

Yuki tried to kick her friend’s shin from under the table. Unfortunately, she kicked Osamu instead.

“Ha-ha,” Atsumu laughed at him loudly, then turned to Yūto. “I’m in…. I like the idea.”

“Tsumu? How old are you again?” Yuki sighed, rubbing her temple.

“C’mon kitten!” he whined. “Don’t be such a joy kill like in middle school!”

“It was stupid back then and it’s stupid now,” she huffed, looking at Gin and Suna for help. “Help me out guys.”

“I for once agree with the stupid twin,” Suna shrugged. “I’ll give me more juice to blackmail y’all later…”

Yuki looked at Gin, her last hope, who shrugged and shook his head under the peer pressure. “Wow, great two more additions to the imbeciles’ club. I had faith in you guys. Since the club has grown, you guys need a name any suggestions?”

“How about the five imbeciles.” Suna suggested popping yet another peanut into his mouth.

“Like the seven dwarfs from Cinderella?” Atsumu asked.

“That’s Snow White dipshit” Osamu rolled his eyes and jumped when Atsumu slammed down his hand on the table with enthusiasm.

“Oh gosh that’s perfect,” he said and gestured at himself, his teammates, and Yuki. Back in forth.

“Can you like speak Japanese?” Gin asked, “What’s up…yer havin’ a seizure?”

“I think he is trying to make a connection between Snow White and the seven dwarfs and us…” Osamu said and looked at Yuki. “You obviously being Snow White…”

“Why that?” Yūto scratched his chin and reached for the bowl of peanuts.

“Dude…. her name is Shirayuki…White Snow….” Suna rolled his eyes.

The manager closed her eyes, sighing deeply. Suna was correct. In fact, her mother had decided to name her after the fairytale character because she adored the princess’s story of finding her prince. Herself, on the other hand, had seen the story creepy.

“So…we need our dwarf names,” Atsumu, who apparently re-gained the ability of verbal speech, said.

“You’re Blondy,” Suna said, “and the other twin can be Granny.”

“I’m not Granny!” Osamu complained, “It’s not grey… it’s silver.”

“It’s freaking grey alright!” Atsumu said, “but I don’t wanna be Blondy… can’t I be Chief or something?”

“You’re Blondy,” the others agreed in unison, then turned to Osamu.

“What about Hungry?” Gin suggested, and Suna approved with a nod. “Sure ….he is Hungry…”

“I’m not Hungry either,” Osamu complained.

“You can’t decide on your own dwarf name Samu” Yuki chuckled, enjoying this a little too much. “Sunarin…is either Stoney or Dopey….”

“Dopey….” Yūto agreed, “Gin is Moody!”

“And yer Yappy.”

“What about Yuki?” Atsumu beamed at his female friend who shook her head.

“I thought that I was Snow White?”

“Oh yeah, right…i was about to suggest Shrimpy….” Atsumu muttered.

The only reason why Atsumu was not attacked by Yuki was because the waitress came with their food.

“So…what about truth and dare?” Yūto said in between bites of his burger “Are we still on?”

“Can you like not speak and eat at the same time dude?” Gin shuddered, doing exactly the same thing.

“If that’s a dare?” Yūto smugly smiled over his bacon burger.

“Yes,” Gin sighed “I dare you to shut up…!”

Then considered “After you go on with the game that is!”

Yūto set down his burger and pointed a finger gun at Suna across him “So…. Suna…truth of dare….”

“Truth?” Suna shrugged and dipped his fries in his bacon milkshake.

“Lame!” Yūto commented “Fine…when was the last time you cried?”

“I bet it’s when Kita told him to run extra laps” Atsumu said stuffing his mouth with some of Samu’s curly fries.

“Actually, I think It was when my little sister was born,” Suna said taking a sip from the shake, to hide his smile because his teammates just looked at him with open mouth. Shocking them with honesty, check. Will that make them answer their own question honestly too…probably.

“I didn’t know you had a sister?” Osamu turned to him “You never said anything about her…even on that day we hung out and I asked you about your family…”

“Slipped my mind,” Suna shrugged then turned to Osamu “Truth or Dare Hungry?”

“Don’t call me that.”

“Truth or Dare Samu-chan?” his eyes glinted making Osamu shift in his seat a little. Say truth…say truth….

“Dare,” Osamu huffed reaching for his drink, before he realized what he had said “NO…truth.”

“Sorry Samu, no-backsies” Atsumu laughed and stole some more fries.

“Osamu, hold your brother’s hands and give him thee honest compliments,” Suna said and whipped out his phone for recording “And it better be honest…”

Osamu gritted his teeth as he took Atsumu’s hand in his looked at his brother with a deadly smile and said “Atsumu your Sangwoo cosplay is really well done! I really love your parents, they are amazing and have an awesome son and lastly you would look great with grey hair!”

“Does that count as compliments?” Gin wondered but Suna seems satisfied as he put his phone away.

“Atsumu,” Osamu said “I dare you to leave the country….”

“That’s not how the game works” Yuki interrupted “You have to ask him.”

“Yeah, like you would know how it works Yu” Osamu rolled his eyes “If I remember correctly, you never participated when we played that game in middle school…you even lied and said that you wanted to go to bed in during our class trip.”

“Because it was stupid!” Yuki defended herself “All the dares were to kiss another person in the room…stupid! And for the record I was tired, we had just done a 20-kilometer hike on that day.”  
“Yeah right….” Osamu snorted and turned to his brother again.

Then he noticed that Atsumu was surprisingly quiet, trying to avoid looking to Yuki’s direction, which was difficult since she sat across him. What was up with him? Yuki was dipping her French fry into the sauce a little too forcefully

Osamu wondered about this, was there something the two of them had not told them “Truth or Dare Tsumu?”

“Truth?” Atsumu said looking back at his brother with a sly grin “No way I’m letting you lead me into a stupid dare bro…no chance…”

“What did that Higurashi girl whisper in your ear the day we left for Tokyo?“

“Lame…Samu…” Atsumu smugly threw another fry in his mouth “She asked me if she could another form of encouragement in form of a kiss….i declined…because the coaches were watching.”

Yuki’s head shot up “You would actually consider being kissed by her?”  
“What?” Atsumu shrugged “She’s hot, ain’t she?”

He looked around the table for approval, Gina and Yūto shrugging and nodding while Suna sipped noisily from his shake.

“She’s a tool,” Yuki rolled her eyes and picked at her fries.

Atsumu huffed and shook his heads “Yu I know you don’t like her…but you have no reason not too…”

“Aright, I said nothin’…. she’s here in Tokyo isn’t she…why don’t you go meet up with her before the match tomorrow and get your encouragement” Yuki huffed and shoved her plate from her, not feeling very hungry anymore.

“Nee Yuki?” Yūto suddenly spoke up “Are you jealous?”

“Please?” She flipped her hair off her shoulder “Jealous of her? Why should I?”

“Because she offers to kiss Atsumu?” Gin helped

“Yeah…like I would kiss Atsumu” Yuki made a gagging motion, but avoided looking in any direction. Atsumu paused and looked at her and fought with the thought of daring Yuki to spill the beans on why she really didn’t want to participate in truth or dare on that middle school fieldtrip.

Osamu darted his eyes between the two of them and caught Suna’s gaze who looked mildly interested aswell.

“Geez thanks…” Atsumu muttered instead and skipped over to Gin, who was dared to asked the waitress if he could take a picture with her.

Suna meanwhile nudged Osamu’s side, as the others were busy laughing at Gin’s red face as he returned to their booth.

“Did something happen during that middle school trip?” he whispered quietly so it was only audible for the younger Miya twin.

“No, clue…. but wanna find out?”

“Sure,” the middle blocker showed a lazy smirk then said “Gin, it wasn’t Miss. Managers turn yet….so truth or dare?”

Yuki slurped her drink and sighed “Truth I guess?”

“What was the real reason you didn’t want to play truth and dare in middle school” Osamu asked.

Yuki, pressed her lips together and wondered how long it would take for her to suffocate before she had to give an answer, the longer she waited the silence grew and she eventually decided to spit it out “Because I didn’t want to be embarrassed having my first kiss with everyone watching…and I didn’t know how to kiss back then….”

“Wait…does that mean you had your first kiss?” Osamu cocked and eyebrow looking at his friend who just quickly shot back “Only one question Samu…sorry”

She decided to distract by checking the time on her phone “We should head back…. I don’t want Kita to kill us…I’ll go to the bathroom quickly, finish up alright? ”

When Yuki was gone Osamu turned to Atsumu and loudly said “Is there somethin’ you didn’t tell me?”

“Tsk…you don’t need to know everything Samu,” Atsumu said the redness tinting his ears obviously telling otherwise.

“My bet is that they kissed,” Suna shrugged “Miss. Manager and Blondy…back in middle school. Didn’t you?”

Atsumu paused then said “We didn’t”

“You hesitated.”  
“We didn’t” Atsumu simply said and threw his napkin on his plate.

“Do you want her to?” Yūto asked smugly before he caught Atsumu’s gaze, the blonde setter glared at him, then huffed out gesturing for Osamu and Suna to start moving, so he could get out of the booth.

Not squeezed in the corner anymore, he began to tie his scarf around his neck and said  
“Doesn’t matter anyways….you heard her opinion on the matter…”.  
He pantomimed the gagging gesture Yuki did before.

“Doesn’t answer the question if you want tit ho” Yūto said suddenly very gently and patted the setter’s back.

“I don’t,” Atsumu said with a finality in his voice “We’re friends and she’s like a sister to me...so we better don’t speak about this anymore.”

He glanced at his phone “Did y’all receive the message from Aran?”

“The one where he told us to take out time?” Suna said “Yeah, what’s that about?”

“I suppose their out themselves…” Osamu shrugged “Why didn’t they write in the normal group chat? So let’s go shopping I guess?”

The first years gathered then shuffled onto the busy Tokyo streets where they stopped at some stores for souvenirs, and continued playing truth and dare. Except that they forgot the part of truth and dared each other.

Gin had to declare his love to a random stranger. Atsumu was forced to start up a conversation with a tourist in English (he failed miserably). Yūto was forced to carry Suna piggyback style for the next ten minutes and Osamu wore Yuki’s fox eared beanie and had to do some dance moves in the middle of a plaza while Yuki was dared by Suna to walk backwards on their way to the subway station.

On their way there they got some canned bread from the vending machine, another suggestion by Suna and finalized their trip by getting Yuki a stuffed fox from the toyshop as a birthday present.

Back in the hotel, they excused themselves back to their separate rooms to stretch out and rest before dinner “This was nice” thought as she snuggled her fox plushier closer to her chest. She never heard Yūto talk so much, Gin turned out not to be as stone face as she first perceives and Suna and Osamu were talking normally again, there had been a strange tension between the two…. which was hopefully gone now and Tsumu…Tsumu was Tsumu.  
To conclude, the first years from Inarizaki, were all little shits. Yuki thought and smiled.  
She really grew fond of them.

The team met up for dinner around 7.30pm but neither of the first years was particularly hungry. However, they ate because they were much too afraid of Kita scolding them about eating healthy.

“We’re going up to the Tatami Room to discuss tactics here after,” Coach Oomi said to Yuki, after she had finished “Would you be so kind and bring these papers to the reception desk and confirm the times for the shuttle. While we head up already?”

“Oh…yeah sure…I mean of course?” Yuki said a little confused about the task and grabbed the papers from the coach, she glanced at the twins who furrowed their brows in confusion.  
“Want me to join ya?” Atsumu said standing up as well.

“Actually Atsumu,” Kita said and the blonde twin flinches.

“I swear It wasn’t me!” Atsumu yelled out.

“I don’t even want to know…” Kita sighed “Anyways…I would like to talk about your serves from today…so how about we go to the Tatami room first, all of us…”

Atsumu didn’t even manage to send Yuki an apologetic smile, in fact it was the manager who had pity on her friend, practically shaking under Kita’s watchful eye.

Strangely enough, the receptionist confirmed to Yuki, that the times were correct and that they’d be picked up by the shuttle at 8.00am sharp. Then she made her way to the Tatami room, notebook and pencil case clutched in her hands as she slipped out of her shoes and pulled back the shoji.

With an instant she was greeted by a bellowing  
“SURPRISE!!!”  
Light flickered on the table, candles on a cake which was places on a table in the center. The Inarizaki Volleyball team and coached standing around it in a half circle.

“What?” Yuki stuttered as they smiled at her “What’s going on here?”

She moved backwards towards the door…

“Don’t you dare run silly!” Atsumu laughed, came towards her and threw an arm over her shoulders “Your sempais went out and got you a cake.”  
“Please accept this as an apology for not knowing when your birthday was,” Kita said showing a hint of a smile at Yuki’s reddening face, she tried to shield her face with the notebook.  
“Really you shouldn’t have!” the girl muttered.

“Awww look she is uncomfortable!” Suna snickered “Shall we make it more awkward and sing?”  
“Don’t you dare!” Yuki shook her head violently. The team laughed at her expression.

“Then come on and blow out your candles!” Akaagi jumped towards her, pulled her arm while Atsumu shoved Yuki by her shoulders.

“Make a Wish!” Osamu helped pushing her down grinned.

“Oh gooosh stoop” Yuki shook off the hands on her “Fine…finee….”  
She sighed and glanced around her, at her teammates who settled around the small table, watching her “Thank you…” she muttered and closed her eyes and blew out the candles.

“What ya wish for?” Atsumu’s breath tickled her ear.

“Idiot…you’re not supposed to tell…” Akaagi grinned “But was it a good wish?”

Yeah….it was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Somehow the picture i wanted to embedded didn't work out :C
> 
> So here is a link to my tumblr. Where I uploded a little drawn scene of the gang in Tokyo
> 
> https://deguddi.tumblr.com/post/636972568042143744/inarizaki-first-years-in-tokyo-scene-from-ch11-of


	12. We don't need things like merchandise.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team preps for the match against Shiratorizawa and the first year boys are in the mood for cuddles.  
> Meanwhile,Yuki is not impressed by Sakusa Kiyoomi who finds this a bit irritating.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone for the support on the last chapter. I'm so glad that you'd enjoyed it.  
> I had some trouble with this chapter and wrote myself into a dead end.  
> Yesterday, I decide to write the second draft from scratch, and it turned out better....still a bit meh...  
> Hope you still enjoy the chap.

They had won the first match of the day in two sets. Mainly because Aran seemed to be on a high and scored points faster than their opponents from the Mie Prefecture could count.

It also helped that their cheering squad was on fire today. After that disastrous first serves from Atsumu yesterday, the orchestra realized that the blonde twin needed the concentration.

Yuki had gotten their lunch boxes earlier today while the team changed and gathered around to cool down in the secondary gym. Some of them wanted to take a nap, and Kita advised that they should also visit the offers of getting free physical therapy in the secondary gym to massage their muscles.

It was decided that they'd split up. Aran was told by Kita to be in charge of the first years (because Akagi would only encourage their stupid behavior).

Their captain had sighed deeply while watching Osamu trying to steal some beef off Suna's bento. The middle blocker was busy filming Yūto and Gin's rice-eating contest on his phone, too busy to notice while their team's libero and setter cheered them on.

On the other hand, Kita, Omimi, and Yuki would go and watch the current match between Shiratorizawa and Kamomedai in the main gym. So that was how Yuki found herself seated between her two silent and kind of stoic senpais observing how Ushijima Wakatoshi scored another point for his team.

Kamomedai had some impressive first years, but their defense basically crumbled under the strong serves, so that they had to change their libero in between the first and second sets. Inarizaki didn't have the luxury of doing that. Their team had been shrunk down to a few people since the third-years had decided to quit after the Interhigh in the fall.

Yuki scribbled into her notebook that she needed to find out where to get some iced towels from. She flipped through a pamphlet with information about the Tournament facilities. She scanned through it when Omimi glanced over at her notebook.

"Say, Yuki…. What's this thing about iced towels?"

"For when Akaagi-senpai receives one of these Monster spikes," Yuki mumbled, flipping another page in the pamphlet. "My coach from middle school used 'em on my arms when I got bruised up after receive practice. They cool off the skin… I feel that our defense might need 'em when we receive those monster spikes."

"I actually never heard of them," Omimi commented and glanced at Kita, who nodded his head. "But the twins mentioned that your middle school coach was quite tough on the girls."

"She was…" Yuki smiled at her senpais," But it was tough love…actually when I think about it. I needed the iced towels more because I tend to get bruises very easily. Almost got my dad in trouble when I was smaller…."

"Ah…. yes…" Kita nodded. "The twins said something about that…you have generally low iron?"

"Yup…" Yuki affirmed with a shrug, "It's a genetic thing…. I got it from my paternal grandma. Oh, shoot!"

Ushijima just slammed another spike that bounced off a white-haired Kamomedai first year's upper arm that looked like the human version of a shuttlecock.

Kanbayashi, the libero, tried to save the point, but the ball bounced off bounds.

"I applaud them for their mental mindset," Kita said, looking at Kamomedai. "They are behind several points but don't seem fazed at all…"

"Let's hope out boys won't be fazed too..." Yuki sighed and glanced at the scoreboard, second set 24 to 15. Yup, their next match would be against the White Eagles. She needed to stock up on bandages, get new towels, ice packs.

"Seems like Itachiyama won their match," Omimi noticed and looked at the court on the left side, where a bunch of yellow players happily clapped each other on their backs.

"What a pity," Yuki commented as she watched the team celebrate. "I would have loved to see them play a little longer, but it was more important to write down stuff about Shiratorizawa…. Itachiyama's libero is amazing."

Her eyes sparkled as she watched the light-haired brunette libero from Tokyo.

"Ah…that's what Gin meant about the heart eyes," Omimi chuckled. "I understand now!"

"Senpai!" Yuki whipped her head around quickly and gasped at the tall middle blocker. "I don't have heart-eyes whenever I look at a libero!"

"Sure you don't" Omimi chuckled gently ruffled her hair. "The twins are just babbling things again."

"Senpai you're messing up my hair," Yuki complained a little quieter, then suddenly remembered something. "Oh Kita-senpai…could we go visit that stall with the merchandise on our way back? I'd like to get a t-shirt there."

Kita considered, and Omimi wondered if he was about to say something like "We have merchandise at home" or "we don't need things like merchandise," but he shrugged instead.

"Sure…if we don't spend too much time….actually, if you want Yuki…you can go right now…I'll take it from here to finished your notes on our opponent…"

"Are you sure senpai?"

Their captain nodded, and decided "you go, spend some time off…. we'll need you for the preparation later on…just make sure you don't get lost on your way back."

Omimi watched as Yuki handed the notebook to the white-haired second year and happily skipped off.

"You do have a soft spot for her Shinsuke," Omimi smiled at his classmate.

"Like you don't…rufflin' her hair like that," Kita said, glancing over Yuki's detailed inscriptions and some poorly drawn caricatures of the Shiratorizawa player's.

"Sure…dad…you clearly don't have a favorite child," Omimi chuckled.

"Please don't go with that stupid family analogy the twins have come up with," Shinsuke began monotonously. He another mark behind Ushijima's name in the notebook, a line indication every time he scored a point. Then glanced at Omimi and, with the hint of a smile, added to his last sentence, "Mom…"

**✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✨🏐🦊✨🦊🏐✨ *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧**

Yuki glanced over the assertion of T-shirts she could buy and wondered if she should get the libero one with the kanji for defense or if she should get herself a new shirt with Vabo-chan. I mean, technically, her old one still fit her, and she occasionally stole an old one from one of the twins. Maybe a keychain would do?

She got distracted by the chime of her phone. Suna had sent a short video into the group chat. The twins were fighting again, apparently for some snacks, and Aran, who looked so done with the world, tried to solve the problem.

She sighed and shook her head, trying to decide quicker by running up and down the stall. Her eyes fixed on the different varieties of colorful t-shirt that she overlooked the tall boy she ran into.

"Sorry…I'm…oh" Yuki stared at the guy with curly black hair, mask, and an expression in his eyes that would kill her on the spot of looks could kill. He was dressed in a bright yellow tracksuit with the inscription Itachiyama on the back. "Gosh, that uniform is hideous up close…."

She heard herself say, then realized that it was out loud, and caught herself.

"Sorry for bumping into you…I didn't see you there…" she bowed her head a little and couldn't help but be amused about the fact that his expression was still not softening up.

She must have spent too much time with the twins because she felt an urge to annoy this gentleman who was looking at her like she was some type of insect.

"Sure thing…you totally didn't do that on purpose," he chided and, from the sound of his tone, probably gritted his teeth behind his mask, "You girls are all the same?"

Okay…. this guy was undoubtedly strange…what was his name again…something like Sakura….

"Excuse me?" Yuki wondered half of her brain, trying to remember his name. "I'm afraid I can follow ya?"

"Surely you only accidentally bumped into me to get my attention," the guy Sasaki or something said then muttered, "Fangirls…."

"As I said," the Inarizaki manager interjected, "I wasn't watchin' where I was goin'…anyway I…oh…. right I remember…you're Sakusa-san…."

"Like you didn't know that," he sassed with a huff and glared down at him.

"Sorry but there are like over a hundred players in this tournament, I can't remember just anyone's name…" Yuki sassed back at him, "Even if yer from that fancy-ass school…."

The spiker just continued glaring at her, to which Yuki shrugged.

"I guess yer kind of a big deal on the Volleyball blogs, and stuff but ya ain't that impressive…." She shrugged and was interrupted by a chuckle.

Itachiyama's libero, with the radish-like eyebrows, chuckled. He had approached them from behind unnoticed and was grinning. "Ohhh, Sakusa doesn't like that much…."

"Oh…" Yuki blurted out, mouth agape, and couldn't help herself but smile. "You're Komori-san…."

"Um…me…. Yes?" the libero said and glanced at Sakusa, who now seemed even more irritated "Why do you? Um how do you?"

"Know your name? Um, I…" Yuki nervously chuckled and scratched the back of her head. "Saw you play earlier…, and yesterday too…but couldn't focus too much because I needed ta write things down cuz were watchin' Shiratorizawa."

She cleared her throat before declaring: "I must say I am impressed by your skills Komori-san…yer a very good libero…., and yeah…um…"

Komori smiled widely and thanked her for the compliment stating he was just okay. Still, Yuki insisted on praising him for his defensive technique, to which he blushed.

Sakusa next to them darted his eyes between them, annoyed that he somehow got stuck in this situation. Fangirl was fangirl…even if it was for his cousin.

"So are you playing in this tournament too?" Komori asked, looking at Yuki's jacket, tied around her hips, probably trying to eye the inscription of her school's name on it.

"Noo…I'm Inarizaki's team manager," Yuki smiled, shaking her head, and rummaged through the little backpack she always carried with her. "Does your team have one…I'd like to get in contact…."

"Unfortunately we don't," Komori mumbled. "Our last manager is in her third year, and we haven't found a replacement yet…."

"Oh…alright…sorry to hear that…um" Yuki fished out a small square card and held it out for Komori.

"I'd appreciate it if you could pass this on to your coach then, it's our contact card…I think it would be beneficial if we can arrange practice matches sometime in the future…"

"I'll pass it on," Komori acknowledged while eying the card. "Ah…. Inarizaki Hyogo…that's why you have the strange accent…wait isn't that the school with those twins? "

He turned to Sakusa. "You know the two who were fighting before the opening ceremony?

Yuki chuckled, and the two players from Tokyo whipped their heads around to her as she said, "Yes our setter, and wing spiker…but don't let them fool ya…they're very good on the court."

"Good enough that you'll be able to win against Shiratorizawa?" Sakusa raised an eyebrow as if to dare her to disagree with him.

"I don't doubt it," Yuki  
countered smugly, then saw Kita and Omimi, who were coming down the stairs that lead to the bleachers. "That's my cue…. thanks for the talk…good luck on your matches…Komori-san, Sakusa-san…"

She waved and headed off to join her senpais.

"As if they could win against Wakatoshi-kun," Sakusa scoffed. "Stupid girl…"

"You're just bitter because she didn't seem impressed with you Sakusa" Komori grinned as he put the card into his pocket.

"And you seemed disappointed that it wasn't her phone number on that card…" Sakusa grumbled.

"I did not!" Komori argued.

"You totally did…especially because she was praising your defensive technique," the curly-haired spiker gagged, "and you totally watched her leave right now…."

"I did not!"

"You're pathetic…" Sakusa rolled his eyes and left.

**✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✨🏐🦊✨🦊🏐✨ *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧**

"Well…this in unexpected," Omimi coughed as they peered down on the scene in front of them. He glanced at Yuki, who was snapping pictures on her phone, almost squealing in delight.

Atsumu, Osamu, and Suna were napping, leaned against a wall in the hallway. Atsumu was cuddling Inari-kun, the Fox Plush Toy they had bought Yuki just yesterday. He was leaning his head against Osamu's shoulder.

Samu, who was snoring with an open mouth, drooling out of the corner of his mouth, had his head tilted on top of Atsumu's fluffed up hair. Suna was on the other side of Osamu, an arm slung around the spiker's midriff, and was snuggling his cheek against his shoulder a serene look on his face, headphones in his ears.

"This is adorable…" Yuki grinned, taking another picture, changing her angle slightly.

"Good thing they're resting," Kita nodded and turned to Aran, "Good job on that."

"It was no big deal," Aran piped up and looked utterly exhausted "the others are getting a massage right now…"

"Good, "Kita declared and mentally made a note never to let Aran accept a babysitting job in the future. "Aran…the coaches, Yuki, and Ren have some pointers for the next game…Shiratorizawa…"

"Oh," Aran nodded, and sat down, with the other three against the wall opposite to the sleeping first years, and started discussing tactics.

"We shouldn't underestimate that red haired middle blocker," Yuki said, "The one that looks like an inflated wiggly man?"

"Yes, the description is point on…" Omimi agreed and remembered with a smile the disastrous attempt of Yuki to draw him in her notebook "He is quite flexible…, and he guesses blocks….so I think Suna would be better suited to oppose him…"

"So wiggly man against the bendy boy?"

"Wiggly man against bend boy," Kita deadpanned. Was that him joking?

**✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✨🏐🦊✨🦊🏐✨ *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧**

Half an hour later, the team was almost ready to leave except for the triplets as Akagi-senpai had dubbed them when he grabbed his bag and headed out after Gin and Yūto. They were about to go to the main gym where they'd had their next match in an hour.

Yuki was left to deal with the three idiots. She was failing to do so for more than ten minutes now.

"Wake up you idiots!" Yuki yelled out and kicked Osamu's leg once more.  
The grey-haired twin grunted and closed his mouth, muttering in his sleep. Atsumu muttered something in response instinctively. The twins bickered even in their sleep.

It wasn't working. She huffed and considered one more thing. Yuki took her h, and out of the pockets of her track jacket, and wriggled her fingers as she carefully stepped between the twin's legs, and put her cold hands against the twin's neck, one each.

The effect was immediate. Both of them yelped up, letting out high pitched shrieks. Atsumu flailed his arms, the plush fox flying into the air, hit Suna in the head and landed next to him. This woke the middle blocker up, who let out a confused "What the...?"

Unfortunately, Atsumu's flailing arms hit Osamu in the head, causing him to jerk his leg, kicked against Yuki. She got tangled in the blankets and fell, sprawling over Atsumu's legs.

The back of her head would have hit the floor if it hadn't been for Atsumu's reflex to catch it in his outstretched h, and.

"Yuki?" he blinked at her, surprised to see her amber eyes blink back at him. "What are you doing on my lap?"

"Nice receive!" they heard Sauna snicker, and Osamu, first a little shocked, snorted at this comment.

Yuki, who reflexively had grabbed onto his shirt opened her mouth to retort something but was caught off guard by the sly smirk appearing on Atsumu's face "Nee Yuki…are yer fallin' for me?"

"WHAT? NO DU IDIOT!" she shrieked and shoved him away with the hand that clutched onto his shirt. "I was trying to wake you up all three of you idiots, idiots!"

She muttered curses and tried to get up her legs were still tangled in Osamu's blanket, making it a bit difficult to do so.

"Why you gotta attack me though?" Atsumu yawned and helped her up by pushing her gently "is it time…who are we playin' ?'"

"We still have a good hour to go," Yuki said, getting off his lap, and flattened her clothes, eying Osamu, and Suna who both were giving her a grin. Suna quickly putting away his phone.

"Shiratorizawa….in the main gym…so you better pack up, and go over to warm up."

"The other's already gone?" Suna yawned and stretched out like a cat, then threw Inari-kun next to him at Yuki.

She caught it with ease, and continued "Aran is getting, Akaagi-senpai, Gin, and Yūto from the masseurs, Kita, and Omimi senpai are already there…so you guys better pack up too."

She turned around and started to fold the blankets, putting them into a duffle bag before grabbing two more bags to carry them.

"Here…. lemme help ya…." Atsumu stood up and grabbed two bags off her. "You can't possibly both walk and carry all of those…"

"You go put on a long-sleeved shirt first," Yuki scolded, zipping up her own track jacket. "It's freezin' yer gonna catch a cold! Fix your hair!"

"Alright, alright…. calm down kitten." He said, shoving Yuki a little, so she stumbled and almost tripped over her own feet if it wasn't for Atsumu to pull her back by the strap of the duffle bag.

"I'm not responsible if you catch a cold Tsumu'" the manager huffed and shrugged his hand off the strap, head held high, she trotted off.

"Wait up! We don't know where to go," Atsumu yelled while slipping into his black crewneck and jogged to catch up with her.

Osamu and Suna gathered their own things quickly. They went after the two, keeping a safe distance because Yuki just elbowed Atsumu in his side after another comment.

"That picture you took of Yuki in Tsumu's lap," Osamu glanced at the middle blocker. "I hope it's good?"

"How did you know I did…" Suna deadpanned at the grey-haired spiker.

"Dude, I saw you take it?" Osamu shook his head but smiled a little. Suna was so irritating sometimes. "Their faces were priceless…but that comment was a little much…nice receive? Really?"

Suna hummed, smirking slightly, and glanced at the much taller spiker from the corner of his eyes. He considered for a moment talking about the fact that Suna had nuzzled against him while napping…. but Osamu didn't bring it up…so why should he.

"You drool in your sleep." Suna finally decided to say, "You know that?"

"What…? How?" Osamu stared at him, redness tingling in his ears, "You were watching me sleep?"

Sunarin shrugged and slumped after Atsumu, who had put an arm around Yuki's shoulder, whining about something, while she tried to push him off her.

"It looked kind of cute…. I guess…"

Osamu cleared his throat. "So…. Shiratorizawa huh…." They watched as Atsumu got elbowed in the ribs.

"Hmm…" Suna shrugged. Okay…they would not talk about this then…. "Yeah…"

**✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✨🏐🦊✨🦊🏐✨ *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧**

Half an hour later, the boys were warming up while Yuki ran some last-minute errands. She'd miss the pre-match discussion, but they had her notes on their opponent, and besides, this task was more important. The manager sighed, explaining to the woman at the information desk once more that she needed a bucket of ice cubes. The lady was young, seems to be in college, and looked like she wanted to be preferably anywhere else than here.

"I'm afraid you have to go to the cafeteria for some cubes in your drink dear," the woman, a bit clueless, smiled patronizingly while she checked her nails. She clearly was new and had no clue what to do.

"I don't need them for my drink," Yuki huffed once more, trying to explain. "Besides that, the cafeteria doesn't give out the ice cubes in large amounts, these are for medical purposes…cold towels you know."

"You can get the pack towels only in exchange with the right paperwork," the woman said mechanically.

"I ain't need no towels I need the ice cubes!" Yuki said, getting frustrated, and noticed her accent getting thicker. "No towels just a pack'ef crushed ice or somethin'."

"Sorry, I'm afraid I don't understand your accent," the woman blinked at her and smiled again.

"Miss…she just needs a pack of crushed ice…" a voice behind Yuki said, and she turned around Itachiyama libero, from before. Komori-san, and ah…a few steps behind, curly-haired Sakusa, looking miserable as ever. Did this guy ever smile?

"Komori-san," Yuki said, nodding her head, which the libero acknowledged with a beaming smile of his. She noticed that the lady at the desk sighed, probably because she had to move to the back to get something.

"Inarizaki-manager-san," he grinned at her, "I'm afraid I didn't catch your name earlier."

"Oh right…" Yuki chuckled. "Hokkyoku, Shirayuki…. first-year… Komori-san…. Sakusa-san"

Sakusa barely inclined his head and looked very bored.

"You really should go, and get the ice cubes for the drinks in the cafeteria," the lady at the desk said while contradicting herself, shoving a pack of crushed ice over the counter.

"Thank you…" Yuki muttered and hold on to the bag. "But once again it's not for the drinks…it's for iced towels…"

"Sure…whatever," the girl commented and clicked her tongue. "Which school?"

"Inarizaki, from Hyogo…"

The woman once more clicked her tongue as she wrote down the details in a notebook, then glances at the text marker yellow clothes of the boys ", and you want."

"Just in need of some med-tape," Komori said casually. "Itachiyama, Tokyo…"

"You're short on tape?" Yuki inquired, aware of the very unnecessary and obvious question, but standing next to the two players, was awkward.

"Yes…unfortunately we somehow forgot to stock on supplies before the tournament…, and yeah…" Komori shrugged. "Sucks not having a manager to handle things like you do…. iced towels…I assume for bruising?"

"Yeah, since we're against Ushijima Wakatoshi monster spikes, and I'm a little concerned about the arms of our libero…." Yuki confessed when she put the package securely into the bag on top of the bottles. "My middle school coach used them on me all the time whenever we did some receive training…I tend to bruise of fairly easily so…"

"So you do Shirayuki-san?" Komori smiled brightly, and Yuki noticed that he skipped the formality of using her last name, "Which position?"

"Libero, , and please…call me just Yuki...if you want to use my first name," Yuki grinned sheepishly then added, "So, I wasn't mocking you or anything when I said that I admired your play…but I don't play anymore."

"Ohhh…why not?" Komori asked, concerned, and tilted his head to glance at her. Sakusa rolled his eyes.

"I had an accident in the Hyogo Preliminaries last June, and am still in recovery," Yuki shrugged.

"Damn….Achilles?"

"ACL, meniscus, and a dislocated kneecap," Yuki chuckled nervously at Komori's wince. "Yeah…sucks…but at least I am able to walk without crutches…"

"Here your tapes…" the lady muttered, handing them over to Komori, then disappeared behind her phone again.

"Sorry to hear that Yuki-san," Komori said and glanced at the bag. "Do you need help carrying that? We need to head in the same direction…our next game is two courts next to your game."

"Thanks for asking but I can carry that by myself…you're free to keep me company though," Yuki smiled at him and glanced at the curly-haired spiker st, anding a few steps behind them.  
"I'm sure Sakusa-san would be more than delighted to finally leave such a crowded place…"

"Noticed that huh?" Komori smiled at his cousin, who proceeded to glare at the two of them, expression half-hidden by his mask.

"Believe me I am feelin' this since I got here to Tokyo…I can't imagine livin' here with all the noise..." Yuki commented and moved along, "The noise, not to mention the smog in the air…say Itachiyama is a boarding school, isn't it? Are you from Tokyo?"

"Yes...but in the outskirts…so traveling from, and to school would take too long so we live on Campus." Komori cheerily said as they conversed about Itachiyama's strange rules while living on campus.

They parted ways in the gym as Yuki went to her team, wishing the two good luck in their match, and the manger prepped while the team was stretching.

She eyed the team from Shiratorizawa dressed in dark purple jerseys. Both teams would be playing in their alternative uniform. Yuki put half of the crushed iced into the bucket she'd prepared beforehand. Then squeezed some of the water from her own bottle into it, then laid several towels on the brim of the bucket.

Just in case… she whispered to herself and checked with the coaches talking to the elderly coach from Shiratorizawa.

"Sorry to interrupt," Yuki quietly said, and noticed the bushy eyebrowed coach look at her curiously. "I'm done with the preparation Sensei, should I go tell Kita-senpai to tell the boys to change?"

"Kindly to this Yuki-san," Coach Oomi said, and smiled at her. "If you could go , and get the ball trolley ready."

"Yes sir," Yuki said and bowed her head, also a little towards the other coach.

A few minutes later, the Inarizaki team reappeared. Tremendous applause accompanied them as they entered the court dressed in their white jerseys. That one Aran fanboy screaming something about Aran looking like an angel all in white. Making their wing spiker close his eyes in embarrassment.

Shiratorizawa, however, seemed to have an equally enthusiastic cheering squad. , and dang their cheer got stuck in your head.

"YU," a hand waving in front of her eyes made her jump a little, "Sorry…oh Tsumu what is it?"

"Would you mind tossing the balls for me to set for the official warm up?" the blonde setter grinned down at her. Somehow he seemed very pleased with himself.

"Sure…um…" Yuki tilted her head to see something glossy on his cheeky "You got something on your face Tsumu…."

"Oh shit yes?" Atsumu chuckled nervously as she quickly wiped it off with the back of his hand.

Atsumu sheepishly glanced back at the bleachers as if looking for something.

They both saw some of the cheerleaders giggle because of this, and Atsumu seemed pleased with himself, glancing back at Yuki, "They're all fired up aren't they?"

"Sure…" Yuki shrugged and wondered why the girls kept giggling behind their pom-poms. "Hafta be against those noisy people."

Inarizaki was the first to serve, so Yuki got into position next to the ball trolley and rhythmically tossed the balls for Atsumu to set. Of course, the idiotic twins had to show off, and Osamu launched back at Atsumu to slam the ball into Shiratorizawa court. But they didn't seem impressed by it.

They moved aside to drill receives. Yuki watched the Shiratorizawa players slam the ball into their side of the court. Their approach was predictable. The Eagles seemed to prefer a classical approach to volleyball…a simple, strong Ace, Ushijima, which was also left h, anded.

The fans seem to freak out too. Chanting Ushijima's name even before he prepped for this spike, alongside that damn SHIIIIRATORIZAWA chant!

"Yu watch out!" she heard someone shout and saw something that ricochets off the ground flying towards her.

Instinct took over as Yuki turned and wanted to bend her knees to properly receive. Still, the flying thing hit her on her shoulder before she could react or even lift her arms into the right position.

She stumbled sideways a little as the ball flew into the air, and someone in the bleachers caught it.

What the heck was that? Yuki turned around to glare at the Shiratorizawa team that more or less looked a little mortified. Simultaneously, that Damn Ushijima guy blinked at her deadpanned, and simply inclined his head a little to apologize.

Then turned to his setter to say something.

The setter turned around to look at Yuki and yelled a quick "Sorry about that…the toss was off!"

While Yuki quickly waved her h, and, and said: "It's alright…" Yeah…besides the fact that her shoulder was pounding like crazy, she sat down on the bench next to the coached who looked at her. Before they could say anything, she already answered their question, "I'm okay…a little startled…but okay…, and concerned…. that hit was tough…."

She glanced back at Akagi and sat down, squeezing the fox plushy for good luck.

**✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✨🏐🦊✨🦊🏐✨ *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧**

They had won. Yuki couldn't believe it they'd beat Shiratorizawa in the third set.

She almost jumped up and ran to the court to join the team huddle if it hadn't been for her still being in shock!

"That was very well played boys," Coach Kurosu clapped his hands as the team approached the bench after they'd shaken hands and bowed to their audience.

"You guys were great!" Yuki nodded in agreement and squeaked a little as Akagi decide to bear-hug her and spin her around. "You really helped me out there with those towel's Yu."

"Let her down Michinari you're sweaty!" Omimi announced and ruffled her hair affectionately, then glanced at Suna, who flopped face down onto the bench. " Is he okay? Are you okay Rintarō?"

Suna weakly showed a thumbs up before groaning into the bench something about that damn Ronald McDonald being freaking annoying.

"Do we have anything to eat?" Osamu sat down on the ground, looking tired. "When are we having dinner?"

"We got some gelatin somewhere," Yuki said, pointing towards her bag. "But you'll get that once yer changed."

"Let's go change then…" Osamu enthusiastically nodded.

"I think their Coach would like to have a word with us…" Kita, who'd just finished acknowledging one of Atsumu's spike served, said, "We should  
go, and thank him for the game."

"Sure…" Atsumu nodded happily, and Yuki smiled. He sure was like a puppy dog sometimes. "Yu are you going to come with us?"

"No thanks, that coach is scary…" Yuki shook her head and glanced at her team, who was grinning at her.

"Didn't stop you from yelling at us from the bench" Yūto grinned at her. "What was it again…?"

"I think it was something about Getting our head's in the damn game," Gin said with a nod.

"I remember her yelling something about getting our head out of our asses," Suna muttered, still face-planting from the bench.

"So lewd, Yuki-chan," Aran patted her head. "Seems like you were just as stressed out as we were."

"You guys…. will never let me live that down…." Yuki muttered and massaged her temple.

"Never," the boys said in unison and snickered. The manager groaned as Atsumu barked a laugh and put his arms around her shoulder as Yuki buried her face into the palms of her hands.

It wasn't one of the finest moments, but she had been quiet during the first set…. They'd lost, and she lost her patients halfway through the second set and proceeded to burst out a very ill worded wakeup call towards the team.

She was mortified after because it was not only her team that heard it but also their opponents that glanced at her reddened face as she hid behind the fox plushie. However, it somehow worked, and the team had loosened up. On the other hand, Yuki feared the wrath of Kita, who was silently staring at her.

"Sorry…senpai," she finally murmured under Kita's gaze, which softened ( only a little) then hardened again. "How's your shoulder?"

"Oh yeah right!" Atsumu announced, hooked his finger on her shirt's collar, and tried to pull it a little to have a closer look.

Then realized what he was doing, moved his hand away before Yuki had to change to swat it away, and lied, "It's fine…honestly…"

The area was still aching a little when she moved, and Yuki was sure tomorrow she'd have a nice deep bruise on her skin.

"I'll take some pain killers, and have a cold shower once we're in the hotel…" she shrugged and rolled her eyes and untangled her from Atsumu's arm. "You guys should go, and meet their captain, get their contact information…I think we should definitely arrange a practice match sometime…I'll gather our stuff."

Yuki d turned around to collect the used towels and bottles littered around the bench, which was now unoccupied because Suna slumped after his team. That posture of him was really terrible. She thought as she watched him replied to a comment by the Shiratorizawa coach.

She had her back turned to the bench, where their coach was talking to the players of Shiratorizawa, so she didn't notice that three of them approached her.

"Inarizaki Manager-san," a deep voice grunted. So suddenly close that Yuki almost shrieked as she whipped around to face Ushijima, the red-haired wiggly man, and the setter with the weird bangs.

"Ah…hello?" Yuki muttered, clutching the bottle in her hands. "Good match…your team played well…"

"Not well enough, we lost," Ushijima stated simply as if he was saying the sky is blue.

"That's right…I mean there is only one team that can win…" Yuki said and wondered where the hell this conversation was going. The four of them continued to look at each other in silence before the olive haired giant spoke up again.

"I hope your shoulder is okay Inarizaki Manager," Ushijima expressed, staring at the spot. "I apologize for hitting you…it was not my intention."

"I apologize to…my set was off," the setter spoke up, and the red-haired blocker patted him on the head as if he was praising a dog for being a good boy.

"There ain't no need…it was an accident…if it wasn't yer intention" she chuckled nervously, seriously…. looking up at this guy made her neck hurt. "I'm fine n all…"

"Good!" Ushijima stated and blinked at her motionless, "I think our coach will be in contact with yours for some practice matches…we'll see each other soon."

Why did that sound like a threat coming from him?

"Yes, I think our team is looking forward to that," Yuki responded and glanced at the other two players.

The setter looked relieved that the conversation was over. Still, Ronald McDonald grinned at her a little his name started with a T… "Um…do you need something Tendou-san?"

"That plush toy you were holding during the game," the middle blocker said. "Can I ask where you got it from?"

"Oh…um," Yuki shook her head in surprise. "From a shop near the station in Shinjuku…."

"Ah…okay thank you…" Tendou smiled and waved at her happily as the three went away.

What the hell was that about. Shiratorizawa was filled with a bunch of weirdoes.

**✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✨🏐🦊✨🦊🏐✨ *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧**

The team was ready to get on the bus. Yuki had already settled into her window seat, waiting for Atsumu to get on the bus. He was busy bickering with Osamu outside. She watched them with a smile when Suna plopped down on the seat next to her.

"Hey…. can you retape my fingers….?" He muttered tiredly, holding out the med tape for her.

"Sure…I hope it's not hurting that much?"

"I'll be okay once I ice it..." he responded, nodding at the pack in his lap. "Freaking Ushijima…."

"Tell me about it," Yuki huffed and rolled her shoulder a little, then started taping Suna's ring and middle finger together. Osamu sat down on the seat in front of Yuki with a heavy huff.

"What's got your fruity in a loop?" Suna yawned at the spiker, and Osamu whipped his head around and answered, "I thought yer wanted to sit with me…"

"Yes…because it brings me the utmost joy to listen to you nag about what to eat for dinner," Suna told and held up his finger to show it off.

"Hey…keep it still," Yuki protested about the change of height.

"I don't nag about food!" Osamu complained, "I'm just hungry, and that Idiot brother of mine keeps flirtin' with those cheerleaders?"

"Again?" Gin seated across Yuki, and Suna spoke a bit too excited and got up to join Osamu in his seat to watch what was happening outside. Atsumu was surrounded by many giggling cheerleaders from before and was smiling at them, scratching the back of his head, and grinned.

"What do you mean again?" Yuki mumbled as she finished taping Suna, and glanced out the window to see one of the girls touch Atsumu's shoulder and squeezed it with a giggle.

Suna and Osamu shared a look then looked at Gin, who seemed to start sweating a little "Did I say again? I didn't say that?"

He darted his eyes at the spiker and middle blocker, desperate for help. Osamu seemed to consider something; however, Suna was quicker to decide.

Suna closed his eyes and huffed: "Atsumu, and that girl who is trying to check out his sorry excuse for a biceps were talking before the game…" he said, ignoring the frantic look Osamu was giving him.  
"She gave him a peck on the cheek for good luck, and all…"

"Ah…" Yuki grumbled and decided turned to look away from the window. "So it was lip gloss on his cheek… alright…"

She shrugged, then winced, and massaged her shoulder a little with her other hand. Irritated for some reason.

She felt the glances of the other three first-years on her, and chuckled "It's fine…the shoulder is just bruised that's all."

"Sure…" Suna started and handed her his ice pack. "You put that on your shoulder for now…."

"But your fingers?"

"I'll get back after you've iced your damn shoulder Hokkyoku…" Suna muttered, and slumped down in his seat, "I'll just stay here during the bus rise…Samu-chan, and Tsum-chan can sit together for all that I care…"

"Hey!" they heard their blonde setter say, who seemed a little out of breath as he stopped in the aisle next to their seat. "I was supposed to sit with Yu."

"Too late" Suna had his eyes closed as he spoke, "I'm already asleep, and can't move…"

"But…but," the setter interjected before Kita in the front calmly told him to sit down already.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The part where I was most struggling with was the match, so I decided to kick it out entirely.  
> I hope you like my drawing of the "triplets"+ Inari-kun.  
> He was inspired by a plush toy I saw in a window of a shop a few months ago.  
> Unfortunately, they didn't have the toy anymore when I went there two days later to buy it.


	13. Yes… let’s not sell our bodies for money.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuki is feeling not so cute and thinks of ways to get money from the boys' fangirls.  
> Kita, suggest that they should not sell their bodies for money, Akagi is being murdered by English and Atsumu has very squishy fingertips.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year folks!

“Atsumu, Osamu keep yer voices down,” Yuki rolled her eyes as their group entered the Tokyo Metropolitan Gym’s main hall. The group sighed in relief, now happy to be enclosed with warmth. Yuki hadn’t felt her best this morning, and she didn’t know why she felt a bit queasy this morning. Her legs felt heavy, and she was a little nauseous, but it didn’t matter right now.

She looked around, it was the day of the Quarterfinals, and Inarizaki would play against Mujinazaka High around noon. They were here early to watch some of the other matches and be prepped and ready.

“Since there a small number of Teams left, we are allowed to set up out things in the 5th gym,” Kita explained to the team; he’d just received the information.

“Alright, then,” Yuki nodded and handed over one of the bags she was carrying. “You guys go get set up, I’ll give in the form for our lunches and the towels at the main desk.”

“Are you sure you can find the way to the 5th Gym, Yuki?” Aran chuckled, grabbing one of the bags from her.

“I don’t get lost at places where I’ve been too senpai…” Yuki muttered and ignored the twins’ snicker. This morning Yuki got lost in the hotel on her way to breakfast. She ended up in the laundry room and would have missed breakfast if it wasn’t for Kita to find her. “Seriously guys…goo.”

“Alright, alright…” Aran chuckled and pushed the twins to make them move. Yuki made her way to the main desk, handed in today’s paperwork, and received the coins she’d have to give to the person who gave out the fresh towels. Humming to herself Yuki, went and grabbed the two bags of clean towels and trotted back to the main hall from where she’d go find Gym 5.

However, Yuki was distracted as an army of vibrant toxic yellow text markers arrived in the gym’s main hall. Itachiyama, all in their neon yellow fading into green tracksuit situation.  
Seriously, what the hell. Yuki had always grumbled about why her school had two colored tracksuits but was happy that whoever designed Itachiyama’s apparel didn’t to their school too.

The Tokyo representatives walked proud and tall; it was their home turf, after all. She watched as the captain and the coach approached the main desk and wondered why the heck she was gawking at them and moved to go to meet up with her own team when a voice called out to her.

“Yuki-san!” it was Komori who was beaming at her and waved. The libero with the radish-like eyebrows had joined the captain and the coach at the desk, who both were looking at her expectantly as well. “Yuki-san, please come here for a second!”

The Inarizaki manager slowly approached the three males from Tokyo. Nervously smiling and tugging at the hem of her sleeve.

“Yuki-san, these are Coach Nogama and our Captain Lizuna Tsukasa. They wanted to talk to you,” Komi smiled at her, brightly nodding.

“Me?…yer wannet ta talk ta me? ” shoot her accent acted up, whenever she got nervous…and frankly being cornered like this did.

“It’s all right no worries Hokkyoku-san,” the coach smiled at her kindly. “We just wanted to thank you for reaching out, we’d definitely be interested in practice games in the future and we’d be honored if you’d give this to your coaches.”

She handed out a small card to her with his details; Yuki took it in her hands and read it for a moment before inclining her head in a bow. “Thank you, Nogama-san, I’ll make sure to give that to him.”

“So you’re running errands for your team?” Lizuna politely asked, trying to keep up a conversation while the Coach turned back to handle things at the desk. “It would be nice to have a manager again on our team to help us out…”

“Yeah, we first years have to do all the dirty work,” Komori sighed. “Hey, Yuki…. how about you transfer to our school and be our manager?”

“Um…no thanks?” Yuki laughed nervously. “I think Tokyo is a tad too big for my liking.”

“Dang it,” Komori faked irritation. “Thought you’d like to manage a top notch team.”

“I do actually,” Yuki grinned at the libero, “Inarizaki is such a team, and we have the better jersey colors.”

“Ouch,” Komori put a hand on his chest as if he was shot by an arrow. “Right in the feels…”

Lizuna looked at the libero a little shocked, then snorted and started a conversation with his libero about showing some school pride and him leaving to join the team again. Yuki got distracted by the buzzing on her phone and was surprised to read a mother’s message. She wanted to meet up later in the afternoon and send her the location of a café.

“Komori-kun,” Yuki murmured absentmindedly, “Yer from Tokyo right? Could you tell me if this place is far from here?”

Komori glanced over the map Yuki showed him on her phone and said, “That’s all the way in the Koto district… you’d have to change some trains to get there…and I guess It’ll take good 50 minutes…. what are wanting to do?”

“My mom, she lives in Tokyo and wants to meet up with me,” Yuki murmured and wrote a quick response.

I’ll have to talk to my teachers about it to get permission to message you later to confirm.

She immediately replied.

Alright, princess. Good Luck with your game.

“That’s weird,” Yuki muttered, then realized that Komori was still looking at her with a smile and held out his hands, gesturing to her phone. “Do you want me to write you down how to get there?”

“Pardon?”

“I’ll write the details of the quickest route down into your notes app, if you want,” he murmured with a little blush, “You know all the subway options.”

“Oh, yeah…cool that’s very kind of you” Yuki smiled and handed him her phone. She busied herself, thinking about what might have made her mother text her all of a sudden. When Komori tugged at her hand and dropped the phone back into it.

“Ah…thanks so much,” the Inarizaki manager mumbled as she checked her notes app and gave the libero a smile. She was surprised to see him blush a little

“Um…” he muttered, shuffling his feet, “I…kind of…also…put in my number…you know…in case you need help or something. I mean not I think that you c-can’t handle yourself…I mean just…. call me if you’re stuck of something.”

“That’s very considered of you Komoki-kuAH!” Yuki felt herself being pushed forward a little as an arm snaked around her shoulders and a large body pressing onto her back as if someone had jumped at her. That’s because this exact thing happened. 

Atsumu, Yuki knew from his familiar scent, had latched himself onto her, arms around her shoulders like he so often did and a firm hand securing her shoulder. 

“Oi…. what business yer haf with our manager,” Atsumu grumbled at Komori, who looked a little shocked and flustered, darting his eyes to the arm slung around Yuki’s shoulder.

“Tsumu…get off me yer heavy!” Yuki shoved Atsumu’s arm off her shoulder. She winced a little that idiot had forgotten that she was bruised up there from Ushijima’s spike. She turned to elbow him his side when she saw Osamu standing there too. He was silently observing the situation and his gaze had something slightly threatening. 

“I…. nothing…” Komori said, his eyes darted back and forth between the twins for a second, then caught himself then confidently retorted. “I was just offering to help her to get to a place in Tokyo… that’s all…”

“Don’t mind them,” Yuki shook her head and moved between the two parties. “They’re just big oafs, you were very considerate Komori-kun.”

“Komori-kun?” Atsumu yelled and moved Yuki a little to the side. “The one from Inarizaki? Libero?”

“The one and only,” Komori grinned, recognizing the twins. “And you’re one of the Miya’s…sorry I don’t know whose.:”

“Atsumu,” the blonde twin said and held out his hands. “Setter”

“Blonde twin, setter…got it” Komori grinned and took his hand then turned to Osamu, who silently looked at him and said, “Then you must be Osamu…pleasure to meet you both…I should get back to my team. They will probably send us to run the errands…since we don’t have a manager like Yuki-san over here.”

He winked, to which the twins scoffed, and Komori grinned at her one more time before he turned around. 

The Itachiyama libero was able to hear the twin’s and Yuki’s conversation even from afar. 

They claimed to get her because they were sure she’d gotten lost, and her insisting that she wasn’t. He glanced around one more time to see Atsumu Miya putting an arm around her shoulder playfully, Yuki flicking it off but laughing. 

Komori smiled at the sound, then heard a scoff from his dear cousin as he approached his team.

“You’re ridiculous,” Sakusa scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Let’s get going.”

…

“C’mon be reasonable We really can’t leave you wandering around alone anymore,” Osamu said once more to Yuki. The three had joined their team in Gym 5, where they were sitting in a circle casually chatting.

“Once more for the slow ones. I can take care of myself Samu,” Yuki huffed and sat down between Kita and Omimi to avoid sitting close to the twins and rubbed her shoulder.

“Yeah right, that guy was totally being weird with you,” Atsumu huffed, planting himself next to Gin.

“Komori-kun was just being considered and helped me out with something and you were rude!”

“We just don’t want you fraternizing with the enemy Yu,” Osamu interrupted Yuki’s little rant. “He called you by your first name too.”

“Fraternizing...” she huffed and shook her head. “It’s called making connections…and everyone besides Sunarin calls me by my first name”.

“Yeah… dearest Komori-kun, surely just wanted to connect” Atsumu rolled his eyes.

“Are you three done…or should I ask what’s going on” Kita spoke up, glancing at the three childhood friends? Who spoke up in unison

“Yuki was chatting up Itachiyama’s libero and he was giving her his phone number!”

“Osamu and Atsumu are jerks that think I can’t handle myself.”

“Atsumu tried to intimidate the guy.”

“I did not.”

“Did too”

“Shut yer trap Samu, you didn’t do anything….”

“I was observing, the reactions of the Itachiyama team in the back…that first year curly haired spiker dude was glaring at us.” Osamu muttered, “Wanted to make sure that it didn’t escalate.”

“Huh…that dude Sakusa?” Atsumu wondered. “Why was he glaring at us?”

Osamu considered putting a hand on his chin. “He was glaring at Yuki more than us…” 

“Might be because I told him, that he is not that special,” Yuki shrugged. “I accidentally bumped into him yesterday and he thought I was some fangirl….”

“You called the Itachiyama-ace not that special Yuki-chan” Akagi, who, like the rest of the team, observed the bickering grinned.

“Yeah…the libero impressed me more.” Yuki’s shrugged and smiled at Aran. “Besides we have a great ace of our own…”

The dark-skinned upperclassmen wanted to retort something, but Atsumu spoke up.

“Yeah, impressed you alright…. that’s why dear Komori-kun gave you his number right…so he can impress you with a date or something’”

“You’re ridiculous Atsumu” Yuki rolled her eyes, then remembered something and turned to the team captain. “Kita-senpai. Speaking of numbers. I was able to talk to Itachiyama’s coach and captain and they gave me their team’s contact number. So we could eventually do a practice game in the future…”

She fished the card out of her pocket and handed it to the captain, who glanced at it.

“Thank you for this…Shiratorizawa has also expressed interest in a rematch in the near future…they were thinking about a match in Spring during the Golden Week as far as I know…” Kita said, and this team listened in, suddenly very interested “Details have yet to be discussed but…I think we might go and visit them in Miyagi…”

“So that means, I have to start planning how to get the money for that trip…not to mention training camp in summer and next Fall’s Nationals,” Yuki muttered and grabbed her notebook out of her bag, itching to scribble.

“Don’t worry too much about it,” Omimi smiled. “Your last idea during our school’s cultural festival in November was good…”

“Yeah…but we don’t have something big like that coming up…we could try doing a Valentine’s day event…or White Day…maybe something during the first week of school…” Yuki muttered, scribbling, and sighed to ease the pounding in her head that was starting“or Sports day…”

“Why do I have the feeling that you’re trying to sell us like cows in an auction,” Suna muttered lazily from the other side of the circle.

“Well…we need to get the money from somewhere…luckily you guys have a ton of fangirls,” she shrugged, rubbing her temple. “And from what I hear some of your fan groups have grown in population since the Spring Interhigh started.”

“How about we do a kissing booth then?” Gin laughed. “If we set it up with the twin’s surely half of the female population would give us all their pocket money.”

“Let’s not…” Osamu grumbled and slapped the back of his twin’s head for nodding at Gin’s idea.

“Yes… let’s not sell our bodies for money.” Kita said and pulled out a notebook of his own.

“Let’s focus on Mujinazaka.”

It was devastating when they lost in the quarterfinals to Mujinazaka. The Ōita Prefecture representatives got the first set, 27 to 25. Inarizaki beat them in the second 30 to 28 but lost in the third 34 to 32. It was nerve-wracking, but the foxes of Hyogo left the court with heads hanging in the end. 

As their manager, Yuki tried her best to console her teammates after they left the gym. Yūto was crying. He’d messed up a few pinch serves and wasn’t reacting to Akagi cheering him up.

Suna looked unimpressed, but Yuki had caught him talking to Omimi when they left the court asking for what he could have done better on that last block.

The twins seemed drained. Not even bickering after the game, which concerned Yuki the most. She knew that they hated losing, but it still worried her how they reacted to such losses. Atsumu became quiet and got into his head. It would often impoverish himself in the coming practices, barking at his teammates until he calmed down… 

Osamu was not different, but he instead complained about Atsumu much more. Snapping at him loudly, reprimanding Atsumu about yelling at their teammates.

When Atsumu got quiet and Osamu loud, things were rough…but now both of them were quiet, Yuki thought and felt guilty about feeling relieved. 

They sat down in gym 5 and were packing their stuff. The team discussed their options, to stay here and watch the other’s or go back to the hotel. The team had to stay in Tokyo another day until the ending ceremony.

“Hey...you two,” she said, kneeling down in front of them, offering a protein bar. They glanced at her, weakly smiling. “I thought you both did a great job…”

“Too bad it wasn’t good enough,” Atsumu murmured and took the protein bar. “I really messed up those jump floaters….”

“When we get back, we’ll work on those,” Yuki reassured him and turned to Osamu. “You okay, you slid across the floor during that on receive…”

“I don’t bruise as easily as you to Yu,” Osamu smiled, then tilted his head. “So yer heading to meet ya mom then?”

“In a bit,” Yuki nodded and stroked her hand over her aching legs. “Just wanted to make sure y’all okay…”

“We’re go meet her,” Osamu nodded. “We’ll be fine… I’ll see you at dinner at the hotel.”

They both glanced at Atsumu, who was pouting while eating his protein bar deep in thought. Yuki looked at Osamu, who shrugged and patted her shoulder.

“Go...” Osamu insisted, “Don’t ya worry about Tsumu, he’s being a big baby as usual.”

“Samu, shut yer trap.”

Yuki was surprised; her mother wasn’t as despicable as she thought she’d be. They met up in a small cute café near her mother’s workplace. They had something to eat, some drinks and talked about the tournament. Natsuko apparently heard about Inarizaki’s loss and even tried to cheer her up. Ito…no Masaru-san even joined them, turned out he’d advised his wife to try to contact her daughter once more before she left.

They moved to a waffle place. Somehow Yuki was still hungry after all those food items, and she craved some chocolate. Then she received a belated birthday present from the two, some adorable stationery and clothes that Yuki actually liked when she saw them. Strangely emotional, she almost teared up.

They parted ways since the two had to go back to work, and Yuki assured them that she’d find her way back to the hotel safely. She only took the wrong subway twice. First, she got off a station too late, and the other time she was disorientated and got onto the wrong line. After almost crying in the subway and getting some things from a supermarket for comfort food, she eventually got back to the hotel safe, sound, and a little frozen. The ash brown haired girl went straight to her room to shower, dried her hair, and changed into something comfortable before she went to join her team in the common room area.

The group was huddled around small tables, studying or, in Suna’s case flipping through his phone.

“I’m back…hey…” she mumbled and glanced around to greet them all with a tired smile.

“Ah…Yuki,” Omimi smiled up at her and gesturing for her to join them. “Are you cold? We have some tea and biscuits…”

“Let her come in first,” Kita quietly said, “The girl barely has her foot in the door.”

“I’d like some tea actually,” Yuki said and knelt down beside her senpais to receive a cup from Omimi. She took a sip, the warm liquid warming up her inside. It eased the ache in her body a little bit, and she sighed.

“You doing okay? Hungry?” Aran asked, handing over tin with biscuits.

“Thanks, full actually I had a bubble waffle…earlier,” she declined at first, then grabbed some biscuits anyway and sipped on her tea. “Are you guys okay?”

“English is slowly murdering me,” Akagi groaned. “But Aran is helping me through it. You’re good in English too right, Yuki?”

“Decent…I had some time to watch English series during the summer when I was bedridden…” she shrugged. “Still need to keep my grades up, so Aran-senpai if you could please help me out too I’d appreciate it.”

“Sure…” he shrugged. “Ask whenever you need.”

“Say Yuki,” Kita suddenly looked up from his history book. “On our way back from the bus, the coaches and me were discussing. When we get back to Hyogo it will be time for the Middle School Regional Tournament…there will be plenty of possible new teammates and we wanted to scout a few. I’d appreciate if you’d join us on that.”

“Oh..” Yuki glanced at her, captain. “Me?…okay….thanks for considering me…”

“Good, they are in Kobe…and we’ll go there after school and practice so I hope you can clear you schedule with your father,” Kita stated, then looked at his book again. “We should resume to our studies.”

“Right…thanks for the tea,” Yuki mumbled and turned to her fellow first years.   
Then she noticed Atsumu was missing, and Osamu was pouting while scribbling math into a notepad.

“Where is Tsumu?” she asked, approaching them and sat down her cup on the table, and pulled her feet under her behind to warm them up. It felt a little uncomfortable for her knee, but she tried to endure it.

“The question is what is Tsumu” Osamu gritted his teeth. “The answer, he’s an ass…”

“Oh no…what did you do Samu?” Yuki sighed and stretched her legs out, wiggling her toes to ease up the tension that had built up in her muscles.

“I didn’t do nothing,” Osamu complained loudly and crossed out a math problem on his sheet, “The turd was being all moody n shit, like he was the only one upset.”

“Samu…what did you say to him?” She pulled her knees to her chest and rested her head on them, looking at her friend. 

She blinked at him. He blinked back before scoffing.

“Nothing…” Osamu dramatically ripped a page from his notepad and crumpled the paper, and tossed it into the bin across the room. He failed to do so, and the paper dropped right next to the garbage.

“Osamu…” the manager was getting impatient and raised her head, rubbing her temple in annoyance.

“You should haf heard what the piss head said to me,” the gray-haired twin complained, gesturing widely with his hands.

“Osamu Miya!” Yuki raised her voice, “What the heck happened that our dear favorite setter who loves attention more than anything is locked up in his hotel room?”

She looked at Osamu, who pressed his lips together in a fine line. She glances at Yūto, who was way too focused on his homework to appear as such. Meanwhile, Gin was nervously smiling, looking like he was constipated, and Suna was on his phone as usual. 

“He indirectly told him that his missed serves cost us the game,” Suna said, looking up from his phone at Osamu. “Sorry dude, but Hokkyoku is scaring me when she is like this…”

“You did what?” the manager whipped her head at her friend and promptly punched him in his shoulder and started ranting. 

“How long were you two bickerin’ that it resulted is comment like that? Seriously how old are you two Samu? That’s not a rhetorical question I’m literally asking if I should tell Shizue-san to enroll you back to grad school.”

“Yuki, stop… you’re making a scene…” Osamu muttered anxiously, glancing at the second-years watching them. He leaned over and flicked her forehead. 

Yuki flicked his forehead in response. “Like you two don’t do every freaking time everywhere we go….I’m making a scene…are you kiddin’ me?”

She paused and glanced at him. “Are you okay…thou? Do I need to kick Tsumu’s butt to because of his comments?”

“No…he actually didn’t reply much after that comment...” Osamu sighed and leaned back, rubbing his forehead, and pouted.

“Thought so…” Yuki sighed and ruffled Osamu’s hair with a smile. “I’ll go and see what I can do…keycard…”

“What?”

“Gimme the freaking keycard to your room Osamu,” she huffed and reached out to grab it from his pant pocket. Osamu didn’t object since he was busy managing his messed up hair.

“Be right back,” Yuki she declared to the room raised to her full height and made her way to the hotel room.

She knocked first, and when Yuki didn’t get an answer, she used the keycard to open up the door and peaked it. The room was a mess, and things were littered all over the floor and on the beds. Osamu’s bed had some food wrappers on it and crumbs…Suna apparently, had brought an abdominal roller with him, as it laid on his bed.   
On the last bed was Atsumu. Who was lying there on top of his sheets, back propped up on the headboard, one hand behind on his neck, headphones in while he was busy watching something on his phone. 

He didn’t glance up when Yuki slid into the room and only looked up when she stood at the foot of his bed, first surprised, then he glanced back at his phone.

“Whatcha’ doin’ here?” he muttered, not looking at her.

“Could ask you the same question…” Yuki shrugged and sat on the side of his bed. The mattress dipped a little. “Why are you hiding in your room like that?”

“Couldn’t see Samu’s stupid face for one minute longer…”

“You have the same face Tsumu…”

“Yeah… can’t watch that one either...” he grumbled, turned away a little. 

Yuki watched her childhood friend with sad eyes. Clearly, the argument had gotten to him, and she knew that Atsumu wasn’t ready to talk about it. The twins never did, they somehow made up, and all was forgotten eventually…

“What’ cha lookin’ at?” she hummed and nodded towards the phone and moved to lean against the headrest as well. She pulled her legs close to her body and muttered, “Scoot over a little will…ya.”

Atsumu obliged and gave her a small smile, so Yuki snuggled into his side. She rested her head against his shoulder, plopped one of his earphones into hers, and stated, “Is that this Russian player yer so fond of? The one with the great serves?”

Atsumu nodded and relaxed a little, slid down the headrest a little, so Yuki was able to rest her head against his firm shoulder. They sat there and watched a video on the Russian player’s serve. The commentary was in Russian….so the two had no idea what was discussed, so they focused on the player’s positioning. 

Over and over again until Yuki spoke up.

“You know that it wasn’t you fault that we lost right…” she said, closing her eyes; gosh, she felt so tired.

Atsumu didn’t answer; he glanced at her, a little bit concerned about her showing fatigue.

“Tsumu…you know that right?” Yuki mumbled and opened her eyes to look at him.

Different shades of brown met. Amber and Honey.

“Yeah…I know…” he muttered and glanced away. “Still gotta work on my serves tho…they suck…”

“They don’t,” Yuki chuckled and pinched his side, at which the blonde setter complained and poked her back, rolling his eyes. Yuki, she tried to evade his fingers my moving out of the way.

The quick movement resulting in a firm tug of the earphones plopping out of their ears and Yuki almost falling off the bed. Atsumu shot her a sly grin and tugged at her arm back towards him.

“So…” Yuki mumbled after recovering the initial shock of almost falling off, “Are you ready to go back to the group…or are do you want to resume sulking?”

“I’m actually craving some exercise really…” Atsumu declared and stared at his hands and ran his thumb over the cracked tips of his fingers. “I know that sitting in that room would only lead to me an Samu fightin’ again.”

Yuki gently grabbed his hands, tracing the callouses with her on fingers, squishing them.  
Puni Puni.

“You wanna go for a run then?” Yuki suggested after a moment, and Atsumu shook his head.

“I’d like to go to a gym to practice my serves…ya know…just getting out the frustration…clear my head an all…” he groaned and put his other arm over his eyes. “I really need to get those spike serves down…and my floaters.”

“Hm…,” Yuki muttered and glanced at her friend while still preoccupied and squishing the tips of his fingers. 

She hesitated, let his hand go, then pulled out her phone and started to look something up.

Atsumu asked her about her meeting with her mother, but Yuki only replied in short one-worded answers since she was too busy on her phone. Atsumu eventually got fed up and resumed watching videos on his phone.

“Alright,” Yuki suddenly said and tapped his chest lightly with the backside of her hand to get his attention. “Get up and get ready, pack some gym clothes and warm stuff for outdoors. Meet me in the lobby in 10 minutes…”

“What? Why?” Atsumu wondered, staring at Yuki’s back as she hopped off the bed. “Don’t ask questions…just do it…alright? 10 minutes don’t be late.”

And she rushed outside the room to her own. Yuki quickly packed a backpack of her own. Gym clothes, shoes, knee brace, hair tie water bottle, and the keycard. She changed into something more appropriate for the outdoors and wrapped her scarf around her neck. 

Then she grabbed a small bag she gotten from the convenience store at the train station and headed back to the common room. 

She slid open the door when the team looked up at her, heavily panting since she’d run the way.

“Kita-senpai… I’m going to take Atsumu out for a bit…” she breathed into the room and tossed the grocery bag towards Osamu. “Samu I got you and the other’s some comfort snacks…yer keycard is in it too…gotta go bye.”

And Yuki turned on her heel, slid the door close, and left.

The team blinked for a few seconds. Trying to figure out what just happened.

“Wait… she’s taking him out?” Gin questioned and looked around at his teammate. “Like on a date?”

“That,” Suna said and leaned over to grab a bag of spicy chips from Osamu’s hands, “or she’s gonna kill him with a gun.”

“Dunno, I think the latter is a better solution for all of us,” Osamu grumbled and snatched back the bag of chips.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Head empty: Just Atsumu's squishy fingertips.
> 
> Since the chapter would be tooo long.  
> I've decided to split this chapter and uploaded one part today. The other will be up by th 5th of January ( which is me Bday...yay! )


	14. Snow White, I’m reporting you for animal abuse.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Is Yuki to kill Atsumu or is she taking him out on a date?  
> What happened back on that middle school field trip?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As promised another chapter! And it's published on my Birthday! Yay! :D
> 
> Tell me what you think .

Atsumu puffed out clouds of cold air as Yuki pulled him with her. Dragging him through the streets of Tokyo, like she was on a mission.  
He assumed she had a particular goal in mind, but Yuki wasn’t talking and only stopped to check something on her phone.

As he looked around, he recognized the area from their first night in Tokyo and realized that Yuki was dragging him to a gym. Okay….for what?

“Hold up a minute midget,” Atsumu finally said as they approached the gym building, stopping in his tracks so abruptly that Yuki stumbled back a few steps and bumped against his chest. “What are we doing here?”

Yuki whirled around and grinned, “Isn’t it obvious?” She tugged at his arm to make him move. “I’ve arranged for you to practice your spikes in there…”

“You what?” Atsumu stopped looking at the gym and glanced at his friend. She seemed incredibly smug. A cheeky grin showed on her face in self-satisfaction.  
.  
“I mean we booked this gym to practice anyway. So I basically messaged the people in charge and asked whether it would be okay if we come here anyway. You know even if we’re out of the tournament.”

She tugged more fiercely at his arm. “C’mon, it’s freezing outside and yer not even wearing a scarf.”

The two high schoolers went and chatted with the person at the front desk, who showed them the direction to the locker rooms. They quickly changed into casual gym clothes and met with the janitor, an elderly man who greeted them.

“Hi, I’m Yoshida…you must be the two kids that wanted to train some spikes…unfortunately the net is already down…if you need it you have to put it up again. I’ll be in my office for a while…”

“Thank you Yoshida-san,” Yuki said with a little bow, then nudged Atsumu, who also inclined his head.  
Yuki grinned and put her and put her gym bag to the side, pulled out a hair tie, and threw her ash brown hair up in a ponytail stating, “Tsumu let’s get warmed up.”

Truth be told. Yuki had somewhat of a tough time keeping up with Atsumu’s long legs, plus she lacked stamina and started to pant earlier than she’d like. Nevertheless, Atsumu didn’t comment on that. It wasn’t her fault that she couldn’t keep up with him since she just started to jog again. Besides, Tsumu noticed that Yuki just looked incredibly fatigue today. The bags under her eyes, a side effect from her constant lack of iron, were more prominent today, and when they stretched, she had somewhat of a tough time keeping up. Groaning in frustration about the loss of flexibility due to her accident.

“I used to get that split…” she hissed as she pulled her leg back in. She laughed, trying to shrug it off, but her grimacing upper lip said something different.

“And you will…” Atsumu said and observed her, “Give it some time… it’s better than a few weeks ago… soo. How are we going to do this? I’m gonna serve and yer gonna observe.?”

“Clearly, I changed into gym clothes and warmed up to observe your spikes…dumbo,” Yuki rolled her eyes, stood up, and hugged her knee brace back into place. “I’m gonna try to receive them…”

“You sure…?” Atsumu equally stood up and looked at Yuki, who’d confidently put a hand on her hips. She was wearing shorts and a new Vabo-chan t-shirt she’d gotten from Nationals, that fitted her better than the ones she’d stolen from him.

“Can’t say if I will be able to pancake all of them... but I’ll take care,” she assured and got into position on his other side and grinned.

Atsumu grabbed a ball from the trolley and felt it in his hands. He glanced at a Yuki who was eagerly awaiting his serve, eyes focused. A grin tugged at his lips as he saw her. If he ignored the fact that her left knee was clad in a white knee brace instead of a kneepad, he could see it again.

Libero Yuki cocking a smile as she stood there, leaning over, hands parallel to her knees as she beckoned him with both hands, “Bring it Blondy!”

“Alright, Snow White…” Atsumu grinned back. “here it comes.”

If she insisted on using his dwarf name…so could he.

He tossed it high into the air, ran, and jumped. A spike serves and a damn strong one. He was able to smack the ball with great force. It gained speed and closely flew past Yuki’s ear and hit the wall behind her with great force.

The former manager blinked then yelled, “DAMN TSUMU YER WANNA KILL ME? THAT SHIT SCARED ME!”

But she was grinning, so Atsumu knew she’d be fine, so he grabbed another ball from the trolley. “Better wake up, lil kitten I’m doing the same thing again.”

The next hour was filled with the noise of squeaking shoes, huffs, and grunts from the two high schoolers as they served and received the volleyballs. Halfway through, Yuki had given up on running after the balls. Frankly, she just wasn’t up to it with the lack of stamina she had.

Additionally, her legs felt heavy, and her knee ached a little. But that didn’t stop her from urging Atsumu on to do his spikes with full power.  
After a while, they simply resumed passing each other the ball, changing their digs to overhand tosses back and forth.

Eventually, Yuki plopped down on the ground, exhausted, massaging her sore thighs.

“We should probably stop right?” Atsumu had come over with their waters and a towel, which the girl used to pat her forehead.

“No… I’m fine,” she grimaced and arched her back in hopes of satisfying pops. “Keep going…really…”

“It’s all right Yuki,” the blonde setter said and laid on his back. “I’m kinda drained too….”

He glanced at her as she gulped down her water and sighed. She then turned at 45 degrees and proceeded to lay down with her head on his stomach.

“Oi…do I look like a freaking pillow to ya?”

“Yes…infact…a very fluffy and squishy one” Yuki rolled her eyes.

“Hey, I happen to have great abdominal muscles…no ounce of fat there!” he huffed.

“You call that muscle? Where?” Yuki chuckled, and Atsumu moved his hand to pull at her ponytail. They laughed, and both started at the lights trying not to get blinded by them and continued sipping their waters in silence.

“You know…” Atsumu mumbled, unconsciously playing with Yuki’s hair, “This really helped….thanks…”

“Glad I could keep your mind off things,” the manager mumbled and put a hand on her stomach. “When we get back home… let’s focus on those floaters of yours…they will be your best ally. From what I could asses they are now even harder to get than they were six months ago…”

“You’d would have gotten them,” Atsumu muttered.

“Probably…but we’ll never know right” Yuki grimaced at her bad knee. “I missed a whole week of physical therapy…. need to get right back into it when we go home…. oh yeah and I’ll probably be able to join gym class again.”

For the past year, she had been excused from participating in gym class. Whenever their class had P.E, Yuki got stuck with another course of Science lessons with class 1-1. Her report card would definitely suffer from this since she didn’t have any grades for P.E to show for this term.

“Just take care of yerself…” Atsumu sat up suddenly, so Yuki’s head slid into his lap. He smiled softly, patting her knee. “Ya tend to get overwork yerself an’ all that budget planning yer were talkin’ about earlier today is another thing your little head worries about.”

“I don’t worry about that stuff,” Yuki protested and sat up herself.

“You guys have plenty of fangirls that will give us their pocket money for anything. I imagine I don’t even need to think about a Kissing booth. I simply have to take money in exchange for every damn’ love letter I am asked to hand off to y’all….”

“Love letters?” Atsumu’s eyebrow quirked. “You never handed me love letters from fangirls.”

“That’s because I directly put them yer and Sumu’s locker…” Yuki grumbled, “Most mail I get is for Aran-senpai. I should start getting money for you guys too. Freaking girls, do I look like a post office?”

“Sometimes Yuki-chan…” Atsumu smirked, and Yuki just rolled her eyes. “Ya know…that kissing booth idea would only be fair if you’d be a part of that as well kitten.”

“Yeah…right…. why should I?”

“Team Spirit.”

Yuki snorted, “Right…and people would pay money…I don’t have a fan club like you do. Besides someone has to oversee things that they don’t get out of hand.”

Atsumu looked at his friend for a second and considered telling her about some of the guys in their year that had approached him and Samu about her…or the fact that that Libero guy from Itachiyama definitely showed an interest in her…he freaking winked at her for god’s sake.

“Yeah…” he mumbled instead, “Need to control those crazy fangirls that just love me sooooo much.”

“You sir,” Yuki said and poked a finger into his shoulder. “Definitely need to be on the short leash, from what Gin was blabbering those cheerleaders had a little bit too much fun during the Nationals.”

“Gin said what?” Atsumu whipped his head around at her and grunted, “That fool should keep his mouth shut about thing that doesn’t concern him…”

“Chill, Tsum…I mean he said you got some pecks on the cheek for good luck…right?” Yuki fumbled with her leg brace and tugged it in place again.

“…Right,” Atsumu replied after a small pause, pursing his lips and trying not to blush too much. There was silence again, which was weird. Atsumu had the feeling he should say something but didn’t know what to.

Yuki simply took another swig from her bottle and mumbled, “Kissing booth is a no go anyway. Gin sometimes has such stupid ideas… who’d like that anyway.”

“The fangirls I suppose,” Atsumu muttered and watched as Yuki stood up, shaking her leg. “I guess one could practice a lot too…”

“Yeah and probably get infected with the flu as an extra,” Yuki huffed rolling her ankles.

“It would probably be fun” Atsumu chuckled, stood up as well, and nudged her side. “Just like in middle school…truth an dare…remember…but then again you never took part because…”

Atsumu suddenly stopped talking, remembering the conversation the first-years had just a few days ago.

“What was the real reason you didn’t want to play truth and dare in middle school?”

“Because I didn’t want to be embarrassed having my first kiss with everyone watching…and I didn’t know how to kiss back then….”

Yuki felt the heat rise up in her face, tingling as she recalled that middle school trip.

_The Yako Junior High second years were on a three-day field trip in Hyogo’s mountainous countryside. There wasn’t much to do besides hiking and enjoying nature. Perfect for teachers who didn’t need to worry about their students making mischief in the city. The trip was for creating and strengthening the classmates’ bonds. Therefore, they had done several scavenger hunts and team-building exercises and kept them occupied._

_However, there was a time after dinner where the kids were allowed to enjoy some free time independently. As long as they stayed on the large premises of their guest house. A lot of students resorted to playing football or tag. Some chatted and spend time on video consoles. Then there was one group of students all of Class 2-3 who had snuck off into one of the larger storage rooms on the upper floor of the Inn and sat in a small circle, cramped between boxes._

_“Alright listen up!” Daisuke, a tall sandy blonde boy, said to the kids and glanced around, “We’re playin’ truth and dare…If anyone doesn’t wanna do the dare there will be punshed…”_

_“Daisuke-kun,” one of the girls, Mai, piped up, giggling behind her hand. “What punishment?”_

_“Dunno a flick on the forehead or something… we’ll come up with it on the spot” Daisuke grinned and pointed his finger at one of the twins in the circle. “I’ll start first…Osamu-kun…or Atsumu-kun, who ever you are…”_

_“That’s Osamu,” the girl in the pigtails sitting next to Mai spoke up. She sat cross-legged, fiddling with a Volleyball in her hand, and looked like she wanted to be anywhere but here._

_“Alright, Osamu truth or dare”_

_“Truth” Osamu replied, rather bored with this situation, while Atsumu looked disappointed with his answer._

_“What’s the worst thing about your brother?”_

_“Him existing,” Osamu shrugged._

_“No fair Samu, You love me!” Atsumu complained._

_“Tsumu I’d trade you for a cornchip” Osamu shrugged, and his mind drifted off to the snacks he had hidden in his bags, then he remembered that it was his turn “Oh…yeah…hm.. Mai-chan…”_

_“Dare,” Mai grinned boldly._

_“Spin around ten times and then walk across the room without fallin.”_

_Mai tumbled into some boy’s lap. And everyone giggled at that. Chants about Mai and Koji loving each other were passed, and Yuki glanced miserably at the twins opposite her._

_Can we go? She mouthed and pointed at the Volleyball in her hands. Atsumu shook his head, mouthing. No way, this is fun!_

_Yeah, fun, alright. After a few rounds of everyone being dared to turn ten times and walk, the dares became bolder. Suddenly Koji was dared to sit in Mai’s lap. Hanako had to peck Nobu on the cheek…and soon all dares consisted of kisses on the cheek, forehead or nose under tremendous giggles. Some of the girls squealed when Keiko gave Osamu a peck on the cheek. Atsumu gaped at his brother, who didn’t look flustered at all. He sighed and asked Koji to tell the truth about why the teacher had sent him to the nursed office the other day._

_Turns out he had stuck a jellybean up his nose and couldn’t get it out, he tried, and his nose was bleeding like crazy._

_Yuki fiddles anxiously with the ball in her hand. She knew that her next turn was coming soon, and she knew she had to do a dare this time. She had tried to leave the game earlier, mentioned that she wasn’t feeling well but was shut down by calls of “Don’t be such a prude Yuki-chan” “Yuki-san please don’t leave it’s just getting interesting”_

_Anxiously she looked over at Atsumu, who laughed as Nobu did the chicken dance. Osamu had fallen asleep in the corner of the room. She sighed and caught the eye of Daisuke, who was smirking at her expectantly, pointed at him then her and puckered his lips._

_Yuki gripped her Volleyball tighter and prayed that Daisuke wasn’t next._

_“Daisuke,” Nobu said, “Your turn…with truth right?”_

_“Yes,” Daisuke grinned, never leaving his gaze off Yuki._

_“What would you say...who is the cutest girl in our year?”_

_“Cutest girl huh?” Daisuke smirked at glanced over the girls in the group, who started to giggle. “I guess…Yuki-chan is pretty cute!”_

_She felt all eyes on her, and her face heats up as Daisuke winks at her._

_“Sooo…Yuki-chaan,” Daisuke grinned “I dare you to kiss any boy of your liking in this room…on the lips….”_

_“What?” everyone’s heads whipped back at Daisuke, who shrugged “Yeah thing were getting’ pretty boring with the pecks…so…how about it Yuki-chan?”_

_“I-“Yuki glared at his smug face “This is ridiculous…nobody else had to kiss on the lips.”_

_“Aww… you’re shy!” Mai giggled “Don’t worry Yuki, Dai-kun was so generous to give you a choice…”_

_“Yeah, that’s fair Yuki-san”_

_“Don’t be a joykill!”_

_“It’s just a small kiss party pooper!”_

_“Oi…shut up the all of you!” Atsumu yelled out, and everyone’s head whipped around at him, “If she ain’t wanna do it, she ain’t do it no need to pressure her into something she ain’t wanna do!”_

_“And I don’t!” Yuki said shakingly and stood up._

_“Ohh see you are a joy kill Hokkyoku-chan!” Daisuke yelled out, “Where is all that arrogant pride you always have when you brag about Volleyball huh?”_

_“Maybe she smells bad…like she is always so rough and dirty and has those bruised on her body.”_

_“No wonder she keeps covering those bruises up with tights...even in summer.”_

_Mai giggled loudly behind her hand. “Such a weirdo!”_

_“Yeah, I didn’t want to be kissed by such a tomboy anyway,”_   
_Shin spoke up and laughed with Nobu, “I’d rather be kissed by a pretty girl..”_

_“That’s it I’m leaving!” Yuki said and rushed out, leaving the group, and slammed the door behind her. Osamu woke up confused about the ruckus._

_“Such bad manners” Daisuke tutted “I’d have offered to kiss her but noo-“_

_Suddenly he stopped because the brown-eyed twin had grabbed his collar and pulled him closer._

_“Shut yer trap you tool” Atsumu grimaced “Talkin’ about manners and all shit… you’re worse. Callin’ out a girl like that.”_

_You’re all asses” Atsumu exclaimed and stood up “I’m leaving too...”_

_He slammed the door as well and went looking for Yuki. He found her behind the Inn’s main house, where Yuki was tossing her Volleyball against the wall. Next to her, a half-empty bottle of Peach ice tea from the vending machine. Her favorite drink._

_“Mind if I join?” Atsumu said softly, and Yuki glanced at him in surprise. The brown-haired boy noticed that Yuki wasn’t crying and was relieved. He couldn’t handle crying, Yuki. She hardly cried, and whenever Osamu consoled her. But the corners of her eyes were a little red._

_“Sure…” she nodded and passed the ball to him aiming perfectly, so he received it with a dig. They stayed like this, back and forth tossing and digging until Atsumu grinned and spiked the ball down. Yuki immediately jumped forward and intuitively received the ball with a pancake._

_Atsumu cackled “Nice receive”_

_“Foul play Tsumu,” she laughed as the Atsumu caught the ball with both hands, got up, and acknowledged. “Your tossed are getting better every day… that weekend training camp at Inarizaki really help you improve.”_

_“Still bitter about that you weren’t Invited?” Atsumu teased, “Don’t worry your passes are still amazin’.”_

_“A libero should be the best passer on the team…I should be good at this” Yuki mumbled “And for the record I’m not bitter about the training camp”_

_Atsumu blinked at her and didn’t believe her. She didn’t talk to Osamu and Atsumu for a week when it happened. Only the promise of telling her everything they’ve learned and buying her a chocolate cake consoled her._

_“It was a boy only camp…how would I” Yuki murmured and suddenly remembered what the other kids had said about her earlier._

_Atsumu noticed a slight shift in her posture. Her shoulders sagged a little as she mumbled, “Hey Tsumu, do you think I’m weird like they said?”_

_“Who cares what those losers think and say” Atsumu rolled his eyes. “They don’t get us…and our passion. You have these bruises because you are dedicated and passionate about something…there is nothing wrong with that.”_

_She looked up at him and smiled, mumbling, “Thanks Tsumu…”_

_Her eyes were shiny, and Atsumu was caught off guard, was she about to cry…but why was she smiling?_

_“That Daisuke is a total jerk” he muttered “I’ve seen how he was lookin’ at ya the whole time…he just loves to bully people.”_

_“I don’t like him either,” Yuki nodded “Oh I hope that next year he won’t be in our class..”_

_“Finger’s crossed…” he grinned and scratched the back of his neck “This whole game was childish anyway…you know…everyone freaking out over kissin’.”_

_“You seemed pretty interested in that” Yuki mocked “I saw how you looked at Mai kissing Nobu on the nose”_

_“I was just observing her technique.” he stuttered and got red in the face._

_“That’s not Volleyball…” Yuki rolled her eyes._

_“Everything can be trained…” Atsumu said arrogantly, putting a hand on his hips and pointed his other thumb on his chest,” I’ll observe the technique and by the time I’m in High School I’ll be both a master at Volleyball and Kissing. Since I want to go pro I need to be a pro in both…you know because all of the fangirls.”_

_“Unless they realize what big of a dork you are” Yuki giggled then sighed. “Thanks for standing up for me earlier…I was really uncomfortable with that situation. “_

_“Yeah, Daisuke is a jerk…we discussed that already.”_

_“Yes,…I know…but…”_

_“Don’t tell me that you suddenly find him interesting because he said you were cute…” Atsumu pursed his lips and was a tad relieved when Yuki violently shook her head._

_“I would never want to kiss him…and especially infront of everybody… I’d embarres myself…”_

_“Embarresed?”_

_“Yes…what if I did something wrong.”_

_Atsumu shrugged. “You can’t do much wrong…I think”_

_“Yeah…you surely are an expert at kissing,” Yuki snorted, and Atsumu’s ear tips turned pink._

_“I’ve observed plenty of techniques…in real life and in film.”_

_“Creep”_

_“Hey, I’m not I just want to be prepared…now I just need to put theory into practical work you know…practice” he glanced at his shoes “Ideally with someone I know…”_

_Yuki blinked and considered what the boy in front of her just said “Tsumu are you sayin’” She blushed “Are ya saying that…we?”_

_“We…no… you’re…no” Atsumu looked up “Ew…no…!”_

_“Well jee thanks” Yuki pressed her lips together and crossed her arms._

_“That’s not what I mean!” Atsumu ran a hand through his hair “I mean…it would be weird… we’re friends right and all.”_

_“You know… I’d actually like the idea,” Yuki said suddenly “We’re friends…there are not things like romantic feeling involved and we can practice…”_

_“Funny Yuki…wait…yer not joking” Atsumu glanced at her, and both teens blushed then he nodded “Alright…then we will practice…um…right now?”_

_Yuki glanced around then nodded “Nobody is here…soo..why not…um..”_

_She stepped closer and awkwardly put her hand on his cheek. That’s what the people in movies always did._

_“Wait… I’m the man… I’m suppose to to that” Atsumu complained and put his hand on her cheek. They both got flustered and removed their hands quickly as if burned._

_“You’re too high” Yuki complained just to say something. Damn it, why was her heart pouting._

_Atsumu suggested, “Okay… let’s sit down…so we’re at the same level.”_

_They sat down, crossed legged, and opposite each other._

_“No hands…they are confusing.”_

_“Yeah…and let’s..um…decide which way out head’s will tilt” Yuki suggested. “I don’t want our noses to crash against eachother…so you right, I’m left.”_

_“Alrigh” Tsumu gulped, and they both moved to the same side. Their noses crashed, squishing together painfully._

_“Outch…I said you’re right!”_

_“That was right!”_

_“My right idiot!”_

_“Okay…once more…” he sighed and focused on the direction he bent his head to. He felt his heartbeat in his throat as he gulped something down his throat. Don’t crash your nose again._

_This time it worked. He could feel Yuki’s breath on his skin. It didn’t smell bad at all. Peaches, Atsumu though as their lips touched for a brief second. Soft_

_That was …nice… Then again, and again every time a bit longer until Yuki pulled away._

_Pressing a few fingers on her lips, she glances at the ground. Tsumu would have liked to go on. Explore this new thing further r, he had to admit…practice a little more._   
_Yuki’s face had been so close, and he’d seen for the first time it seemed that her eyes had a darker circle around the iris._

_“Yeah…um..” Yuki mumbled pink in the face, “I don’t think…this works… it’s awkward… you’re my best friend…we...should stop..”_

_“Alright…if you want” Atsumu felt a little pang in his chest. He would have liked to go on…and he wanted to say that to her…but a voice yelling their names interrupted them. Osamu was looking for them. The two scrambled apart and stood up hastily._

_“We won’t talk about this ever again, with no one…okay Tsumu” Yuki muttered as he reached for the Volleyball._

_“Yes…”_

_“Not even Osamu”_

_“I swear it on my setter soul” Atsumu said and crossed an X over his chest._

“Ah…you kids are finished”

Yuki and Atsumu jumped apart at the sudden intrusion.

Yoshida san reappeared in the gym and glanced around the volleyballs littered all over “If you take care of the ball. I’ll do the net and the rest. Your free to go…” Yoshida-san reappeared in the gym. Yuki and Atsumu both jumped at the sudden intrusion.

“Oh…thank you,” Yuki said and moved quickly to get a ball from the ground. She winced a little at the sudden movement of her leg. Nevertheless, she started collecting the balls and tossing them into the bin. She never missed, her aim never quavered.

A libero was the best passer on the team, after all. Atsumu thought with a smile and moved to help her.

They changed, and Yuki had a quick shower in the gym’s locker room, trying to ease off the ache in her body...something was going on with her…she wasn’t usually this fatigue. She glanced at her phone the time and date and remembered…oh right…that was going on. PMS…it all made sense now. Yuki groaned. She’d get her period tonight or tomorrow and would be suffering for the next few days…great, even less sleep than usual.

The Inarizaki members made their way back slowly, walking side by side because Atsumu noticed her pace was slower than usual.

“Hey…is something wrong?” he muttered.

“I’m a little tired Tsumu…” Yuki confessed quietly and almost hoped that her voice was drowned by the city noises and didn’t reach Atsumu’s ears.

“Your knee?”

She mumbled and shoved her hands deeper into her jacket, pocked. “Just overall, legs…”

Atsumu glanced around, then decided to squat down and said, “C’mon…hop on.”

“Tsumu…please I can walk.”

“Yer practically sleep walking kitten,” he chuffed then said again. “Hop on… it’s not like you are heavy or anything. That or I’ll carry you princess style…Snow White.”

“Alright Blondy,” Yuki rolled her eyes and put her arm around his neck as Atsumu put his arms under her thighs and stood up. Yuki snuggled against his back, chin resting on top of his shoulder.

“Nice view huh?” Atsumu chuckled. “The air is better here too. I guess you’d never known that before little ankle biter.”

“You do realize that your head is very approachable for smacking right now… don’t you” Yuki grumbled.

“This Is the thanks I get for being nice.”

“Your offerin’ to be my personal donkey… that’s all Blondy.”

“Last time I checked Blondy was my dwarf name…not my donkey name.”

Yuki just gave a small smack against his chest.

“Oi…Snow White, I’m reporting you for animal abuse.”


	15. I need to go and water our classroom pet fish

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Suna thinks about stuff. Gin gets a date. Suna can ice skate, the others almost die trying.  
> Osamu is apparently a bigger pain in the ass than Atsumu and Yuki notices a date on a calendar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HELLO EVERYONE. I wanted to post this way earlier but got stuck in a writer's block once more.  
> The first part of the chapter is not at all inspired by my last terrible week on my period ( Sorry if that was too much info but I was in pain!!!)  
> Anyway the next chapter will be up on the 25th! 
> 
> The notes at the end are reserved a little Promo. I'm collaborating with two wonderful author's on a Haikyuu!! Crime AU reader insert ff on Tumblr. The story will have multiple endings... So if you like you can check it out. Links and a little teaser is in the notes at the end.
> 
> Have fun and enjoy the chapter. Tell me what you think

Suna Rintaro had finally come to the conclusion that you better should not mess with Hokkyoku Shirayuki. He’d found her odd, 5’2 small…with piercing goldish amber eyes that observed him silently since the day she’d hit the idiotic twins in the head with a Volleyball at tryouts. He didn’t care much for her, she was in a different class, on the girls’ volleyball team, but the Twins didn’t shut up about her. 

When the libero had her accident in the Hyogo prefecture finals, the boys were furious, not that she got hurt. But that they didn’t know until after the ceremony because she wasn’t able to join. She didn’t come to school for a few weeks, and then there were the summer holidays, and Rin went back to Aichi to visit his family home and spend some time with Ran. His sister had grown so much in the few months he moved to Amagasaki…got a lot more annoying too. Girls were annoying, he thought, but Yuki was different. 

She looked different too. Suna remembered when Atsumu and Osamu dragged her into the gym and asked the coaches to consider her manager position. Her cheeks were a little hollowed out, bags under her eyes, and her hair was longer but unruly like she grew it out without bothering for a cut that gave the hair shape. She was walking on crutches and wasn’t smiling anymore. Drained His first conclusion was that she was lost or had lost something inside her, but that didn’t keep her from doing her best for others, no matter how it tired her out more.

Being tired. Suna knew that feeling. He was tired all the time…but he was never drained out of joy like she was. She was sad and yearning for the court. That didn’t keep her from helping out the team as best as she could. Giving suggestions, observing their training, and masterminding a training plan with the coaches. He liked her, accepted her enough because Yuki worked hard, and soon she got comfortable enough around the team to smile once in a while. She sometimes laughed, mostly whenever the twins did something stupid. Couldn’t blame her idiocrasy is amusing. He noticed that she was very close to the twin and the only one who managed to calm Atsumu down. Make him all soft and gushy and make Osamu fuzz over her like a mother hen. The three cared for each other deeply, he notices.

However, Yuki was oblivious…and maybe a tad naïve when it came to the feelings that were so apparent for Suna. Yuki liked Atsumu a little more than just a friend, and Suna was sure Atsumu liked Yuki. Because, frankly…friends don’t look at each other that way when the other isn’t looking. They were idiots. That was his second conclusion.

So when Yuki claimed to take Atsumu out that evening in Tokyo, Suna expected something to happen. Osamu was nervous about this, Rin guessed because things would only get awkward for him as the third wheel. Because Rintaro was sure that Osamu would choose Atsumu if things got rough…even if it meant to leave Yuki behind. He would never admit to that.

That evening, the first years excused themselves from the common room to sleep early, meaning they hung out in the lobby to watch the two return. Gin and Yūto snickering over some texts from their classmates. Eventually, Atsumu returned to the hotel, with a sleepy Yuki on his back. He was so deep in thought that he didn’t notice the four classmates gawking at the two and continued walking to the elevator. So they decided to wait for Atsumu in their room, which the blonde twin returned to with a serious and grim expression.

Gin and Yūto looked up from their phone expectantly and in the mood for some mischief if Suna was able to read their expressions. Atsumu sighed and pinched his fingers on the bridge of his nose before he glanced at Osamu for a moment, and the twins seemed to silently communicate with each other.

“Oh no…” Osamu groaned, “Oh no…please no…Should we tell Kita?”

“And get killed the demon?” Atsumu shrugged, “No…better keep the calm before the storm as long as possible.”

“What’s going on?” Gin was the one to ask why in heaven’s name Atsumu lost all his respect for their captain and called him a demon. 

“Code Red…” Osamu sighed and hid his face in his hands. “Yuki is or will be on her period in the next days….”

“Oh… that’s.” Gin turned red, and Yuto awkwardly squeaked. The boys exchanged looks before Gin so intelligently stated.

“Oh…she is the demon!”

“She is a freaking nightmare…” Atsumu groaned, “Usually she stays at home, and we avoid her…but…. gosh… don’t tell me we have to endure her tomorrow…and during the train ride!.”

“C’mon…it can’t be that bad can it?” Yūto inquired, glancing awkwardly at gin and Suna for backup. “She is just a little hormonal isn’t she?”

“She,” Osamu muttered and closed his eyes. “Is a monster.”

She looked like one the next morning too. When she appeared at breakfast, Yuki’s bags were even darker. She looked like she crawled out of hell, looked grumpy and miserable, glaring at everyone who dared to smile at her or, for god’s sake, say good morning.

Osamu tried to be friendly and shove some nice and soup towards her. She whipped her head at him with looks that would have killed him but silently shoved rice in her mouth. Osamu quietly changed his seat. Wimp and Gin, and Kosaku exchanged fearful glances, looking at their senpais for help. 

Omimi was quietly observing the manager while Akaagi and Aran listened to Osamu, who was quietly whispered. “It is better not to speak with her until she has her medication.” 

It was Kita who made the mistake of asking her if she was okay.  
Yuki promptly had snapped loudly at the captain, causing everyone to whip their heads towards her in fear and back at Kita, who remained calm as usual. Although the corners of his eyes twitched slightly in astonishment and then recognition. 

They were all anticipating Kita to coldly scold her. Still, then it happened Yuki started crying. Big round tears streamed out of her eyes as she sobbed and apologized. That was overkill.  
Nobody knew what to do or console her because Yuki had slapped Omimi’s hand away when he tried to pat her shoulder.

The other guests were starting to look so that Atsumu finally sighed and brought up the courage you gently tug at her arm and bring her up to her room. When he returned, he was rubbing his temple and told the group that Yuki apologized and would stay in her room for the whole day and not come with them to the gym.

“She’ll probably lay there and watch some cheesy Disney movies and snack something…” Atsumu sighed and nudged Osamu. “Say…Samu…you got any snacks left for us to bring her?”

“We’ll stop by at the convenience store down the street,” Kita calmly but with such persuasion that the rest of the team stood up as well and went to the store and got back armed with chocolates, chips, drinks, and instant hot packs.

They didn’t dare to knock as they laid down their offerings to the Menstruating Demon behind the hotel room door, and Atsumu texted her once they were on the bus. Add some incense sticks, and the hallway would look like a freaking temple.

The demon didn’t come out of her cave until the next morning. She mumbled some thanks and apologies but kept her head bowed and barely talked. Medicated. Osamu had told Gin and Yūto, who were keeping their distance. Yuki clearly wasn’t happy at that.

They went to the gym for the finale and the ceremony. Atsumu received an award for the best setter. Which surprised him at first, but then he couldn’t stop grinning (Yuki cried once more, and when Atsumu dared to tease her, she told him to shut up).

Afterward, they got back to the hotel in the early afternoon and packed up to get onto the coach. Unfortunately, their journey back to Amagasaki would be on the bus instead of the train. Everyone dreaded almost nine hours of travel. Luckily the bus was big enough, and they were little that they could spread out and get a double seat for some sleeping if they rotated. 

Yuki noticed that they were, again, keeping their distance from her and started sniffling quietly and rolled up in a ball on her seat. She tugged at the strings off her hoodie, so only a small circle of her face was visible. Atsumu groaned and decided to sit next to her for the bus’s remaining time and gently rubbed her back.

She’d eventually fallen asleep, snuggled against his shoulder, and didn’t wake up, even when the group all gathered for a selfie.

They arrived just before Midnight at school, where most of the players got picked up by their parents. Suna sighed as he shouldered his bags, said goodbye to the coaches, and made his way to his apartment. After this loud and busy week and sharing a room with the twins, his apartment would be quiet. Thank goodness.

The quiet didn’t remain. They had school the next day and were greeted by loudly cheering fangirls at the gates. They had grown after the Spring International, and their voices were even shriller. But this perception could be due to his tiredness, Suna thought. Neither of the team had slept well the last night, but the fun was over. They had to get to school and also had an afternoon training. Yuki remained at home, and Suna was happy about that. 

The team had scheduled training that afternoon, even though the Spring Tournament was over, they had to focus on their next match that would be there soon enough. They didn’t need the memories. When Suna came into the locker room, the twins were already bickering about something. Atsumu’s voice sounded more nasal than usual, and he was sniffling.

“Put on a damn long sleeve over yer damn t-shirt,” Osamu complained, “Don’t try to show off muscles ya don’t have!”

It turned out that Atsumu has caught a cold. Even though the blond twin tried to cover it up, he got send home by Kita and would not return to school the following day. With Atsumu and Yuki out of the picture, training was surprisingly quiet, no bickering twins, no scolding manager.

“You look miserable,” Suna said to the grey-haired twin as Osamu returned after putting the net away. “Am I correct assuming you’re missing your better half?”

“I ain’t missin’ him,” Osamu grumbled and made his way to the left net pole and started dismantling it. “It’s just without two others the other first years have to pick up more things after practice, gettin’ the waters and stuff…”

“We’re proficient enough I think” Suna yawned and made his way to help Osamu with the pole.

However, Osamu quickly grabbed the pole, stating a little irritated, “I can do that by myself.” 

“I was just offering Samu-chan,” Suna shrugged, eying the spiker, who was struggling with the pole.

“Don’t call me that,” Osamu murmured and hurried away quickly. 

Suna groaned, feeling stiff and sore after the long day as he made his way downtown to grab something to eat and was surprised to find the grey-haired twin in the grocery store closest to his apartment complex.

The younger twin had a basket full of snacks and currently was looking at the assortments of flavored tea. 

“Are you following me Miya?” Suna said, glancing at him, and Osamu whipped around when the middle blocker continued, “This store is nowhere near your bus stop….”

“This store has a better assortment of teas…” Osamu grumbled a little in shock, “And besides yer the one who came last, so frankly you are following me…

Osamu glanced around, checking if someone else had seen them. Suna shrugged. “I just wanted to grab something for dinner…”

He lazily shook the basket he was holding.

“Nutritious…” Osamu commented, glancing at the packs of Instant noodles and chuupets.

“Yeah…yeah…I know mom,” Suna rolled his eyes. “I just wanna go to sleep…but food is nessesary….”

“You should really do some meal prep on your days off…. especially when you live alone….” Osamu commented and threw a bottle of lemon tea in the basket. For Atsumu, Suna mused.

“Cooking is a drag…” Suna commented and leaned against the store shelf to observe Osamu, who shot him nervous glances from the corner of his eyes. It almost made Suna smile in public. “You know…Miya…. I’d ask you to help me out with that…”

He paused and squinted a little at the silver-haired guy who was fiddling with a bottle of peach tea. “However…” Suna haltered “For some reason I make you nervous …. you are avoiding eye contact with me…”

“I’m not!” Osamu huffed and glared at him. Then turned around to look at the content of his basked. 

“You were…. although there is no such reason to do so,” Suna concluded and put his hands into his pockets. “I thought it was cool between us…So stop panicking… …I got the message…. you’re not interested…”

Osamu quietly shoved the peach iced tea into his basket and grumbled not very convincingly “Yeah…. that’s right…”

“Cool...” Suna shrugged. “Then stop panicking every time I’m around you and talk normally like teammates right?”

“R-right!”

“Fine…” Suna breathed then turned around to make his way to the cash register. “Then…have a nice evening Miya….see you at morning practice…”

“Suna, heads up….” Osamu spoke suddenly, and the middle blocker turned around to catch a bottle of a drink. 

“I think you might like this one…” Osamu pronounced and turned around again. Rintaro glanced at the bottle in his hand. It was a lychee drink with pieces of jelly in it, and for some reason, it made him almost smile in public.

Yuki came back to school the next day. She was there at morning practice and apologized once more to Kita, who awkwardly patted her head once before resuming his warm-up. At least she didn’t look like the walking dead anymore, Suna mused as she watched over them stretching. Atsumu was still sick, and Osamu complained to Yuki about sick Atsumu. None of the others were ready to listen to his whining.

The blonde twin was spamming the group-chat the whole day with memes and videos because he was bored at home, so Suna banned him from the chat for the remainder of the day. Maybe, he considered, he should do it for the rest of the weekend that was approaching. 

At lunch, the team sat together around a table in Yuki and Osamu’s class. Yūto and Gin had joined them, whispering excitedly. They shot glances at two girls in the front row that were looking at them curiously and giggled.

“Yuki…say…” Yuto finally spoke up, “Who are those girls in the front row…the one with the bow in her hair and her friend?”

Yuki blinked at the brunette for a second, then turned around very obviously staring at the girls that started giggling because now their whole table was looking at them.

“Um…the one with the bow is “Isobe, Asuka and Harada, Setsuko… I think…why?”

“They’re…nice,” Gin simply said and shared a glance with Yuto. They were discussing something silently, elbowing each other in the side until Gin spoke up, “Would you mind calling them over Yuki…so we can like….talk to them.”

“What?” Yuki shook her head in irritation. “Go talk to them yourself…what are you five?”

“We can’t just go up to talk to them…they’re girls…” Yuto said in a way as if he’d tried to explain multiplication to a three-year-old.

“I am one too…and you’re talking ta me…Oh…. well,” Yuki shrugged but turned around again,” Yo….Isobe-san, Harada-san….would ya mind coming here for a second Ginjima and Yuto want to talk to you…”

The girls blinked at Yuki for a second, then looked at the two flustered Volleyball players, then at each other, and started to giggle furiously.

“Thanks so much Hokkyoku…” Gin muttered with reddened ear tips and sat up a little in his seat as the girls approached. 

“You had to ask Yuki,” Osamu grinned behind his rice ball “Your own fault…”

“Hi…” Isbobe breathed as she smiled at Gin. “You’re Ginjima-kun right…I saw you playing on TV…great job and all…”

“Thanks…um…” Gin muttered and nervously glanced around at Osamu and Suna, who were gawking at the interaction. Meanwhile, Yuki put her bento away and stood up, flattening her skirt, ignoring the ruckus in the classroom. “Samu…I’m going to the staff room to talk to the coach about some budgeting stuff…wanna join…you look like you need some fresh air too Suna…”

The two-second years shot her an annoyed look. While the manager simply blinked back.  
C’mon guys…let them have some privacy.

“Right…I need to go and water our classroom pet fish…” Suna said and stood up, shoving his hands in the pocket of his pants. “See you at practice…Gin…Yuto…”

“You two…really have to stop that staring…” Yuki said as soon as they were outside of the classroom. “Poor Gin and Yūto were so embarrassed.”

“I’m surprised that you understood this whole situation” Suna shrugged.

“Gin and Yūto were doing heart eyes right in front of my bento…of course I noticed…. besides those two girls cornered me this morning to give me some love letters for the two…” Yuki shrugged.

“But you didn’t give them those…” Osamu wondered.

“Yeah…I forgot,” Yuki shrugged and bit her lip to hide a mischievous grin. “Got some for you two as well…I just don’t get why everyone assumes I’m the Volleyball Clubs personal post office…”

“Throw mine away,” Suna muttered and glanced at Osamu’s back. “I’m not interested.”

“Alright…” Yuki shrugged and looked at her phone, which just had buzzed. “Ah…the two have a date on Sunday…”

Yuki was somehow roped into the twins’ stupid antics. They were currently shadowing Gin, Yūto, who were waiting in the city square for their dates. Shadowing was mild. Somehow the Miyas thought it would be a great and totally unsuspicious idea to hide behind a bush like creeps. She was on her way back from a gym appointment to start up some exercising when Atsumu called. The twins picked her up from a takoyaki stand where she was getting a late lunch from. Suna slumped behind him, looking amused but at the same time totally disinterested and was like always on his phone.

Yuki must have seen this coming.. Atsumu, who got rid of his cold on Friday, was to quote him. Bored out of his mind and needed something exciting to happen. Osamu was told to take care of his brother by his mother. Just in case he caught a cold again and Suna, well…he just happened to be hanging out at the local arcade when he saw the twins and the blonde one dragged him with them.

“This…is stupid,” Yuki declared, kneeling between Suna and Osamu. “I hope nobody we know see us…”

“Their dates are late,” Atsumu noticed. “Ohhh I hope they stand them up…Gin was so smug on the phone…would serve him right…”

“What’s your damage?” Osamu muttered and looked behind him, eying the takoyaki stand in the far distance.

“ Don’t even think about standing up and goin’ there Samu!” Atsumu pushed his brother down by the shoulders. “They’ll see us…”

“You know that they’re already gone right” Suna commented, putting away his phone, and the twins whipped around to see that, in fact, Gin and Yūto were gone.

“Thanks a lot Samu!” Atsumu yelled and promptly go stepped on the foot by Osamu. Atsumu proceeded to push Osamu’s face away with the flat of his palm, and the two toppled out of the bush onto the street, scaring a couple of elementary school kids.

Suna took a picture of the twins on the ground then proceeded to mutter, “Do you…really have to do this stuff?”

“Don’t act like you didn’t take a picture of that Sunarin,” Atsumu snapped and got up.

“I didn’t do that…one day when you’re all famous and all… I’m gonna sell those pics for a lot of cash and get rich…” Suna shrugged.

“Please send me this one,” Yuki chuckled in amusement and stood up, shaking her legs. “I wasn’t fast enough to snap a picture.”

“Ah…so you got an album of blackmail material too? ?” Suna blinked at then yawned, then turned to the twins. “So now…since we have no clue where the lovebirds are going…can we go somewhere too?”

“Like hit the movies or something?” Atsumu said, “I don’t have no money…spend my monthly all in Tokyo.”

“Pity…the movies are a great place to take a nap…” Suna shrugged and dug his hands deeper into his coat pocket. “I’m getting cold…”

“We could always go and try to find them…you know like check out some of these cutesy cafés girls like to hang out…” Osamu suggested. 

“Actually I remembered where they wanted to go. To that new at a café near that Ice rink…if you’re interested.” Yuki muttered, pointing towards the direction where the city’s outdoor ice ring was situated.

“Alright…then it’s decided,” Atsumu said and promptly grabbed Yuki’s hand, dragging her with him. “We’re going.”

There was one issue, though. The café wouldn’t let them in. It’s a special couple day event today…only people on a date can come in. They said. Atsumu even tried to explain that it was vital for them to get in. Osamu attempted to explain that they were on a date to…to which Yuki glanced at the grey-haired twin with a confused expression. She was about to retort something when Atsumu grinned and said to the wait staff at the front door.

“That’s right we’re all on a date with this little lady here…all…three… of us…!”

Needless to say, they were asked to leave the café and were now sulking on a bench, observing the pink-tinted windows in hopes of a glance. Suna had bought himself a cup of hot chocolate offered it to Yuki, who declined with thanks and slumped down on the bench next to her.

“You guys are really fun to hang out with…” he muttered over the steaming cup. “I couldn’t ask for a more exciting Sunday afternoon…”

“Shut yer trap…you could have said something in there,” Atsumu complained and glanced behind him, eying some kids that were skating on the ice rink.

“and make it worse than it already was? I can’t show my face around here anymore.” Suna muttered, “I liked that café.”

“Nee Suna…say you went there on a date?” Yuki mused and was flicked on the forehead by the middle blocker.

“It’s not always a couple café…” he said. “I go there by myself when I get bored.”

“You go there by yourself,” Yuki grinned. “Romantic.”

“Yeah, I date myself” Suna nodded and stretched his back. “Sometimes I even cause a dramatic public break up scene with myself….you know to keep it interesting…”

“Sure you do…” Yuki rubbed her forehead. “Alright…since we have nothin’ better to do…how about…”

“Don’t you dare say go home on study for exams,” Osamu muttered and rolled his eyes.

“I was about to say do something else…but okay,” Yuki pouted. “But I don’t see you havin any suggestions…”

“How about we try that stuff” Atsumu happily said “Ice skatin’’”

The first years turned around to look at the sparsely populated ice rink, shrugged, and moved to pay for their entry and get some shoes. Sunarin was surprisingly good at keeping his balance, much to Atsumu’s dismay. The blond setter overconfidently took a long slid and fell on his behind, toppling over Osamu that just had regained his own balance. 

The Inarizaki manager was keeping herself to the sidelines on wobbly legs. She’d refused to get a penguin-shaped helper for the ice mainly because the twins had mocked her but was regretting that now. 

Suna, who just finished capturing another video for his catalog of blackmail material, turned around to smirk smugly at Yuki, then scoffed and held out a hand. “C’mon…grab my hand…once you let go of the railing you’ll be fine…”

“Why does it sound like a threat when those things come from yer mouth?” Yuki cursed but let go of the railing. She glided over the ice with waving arms and almost crushed into the middle blocker if he didn’t catch her.

“See…I know you got core strength,” Suna said as if he’d praise a child then put his hands on her lower back to steady her. “Stand up, bend you knees a little…”

Yuki huffed at his tone, but his touch was gentle, and surprisingly she was okay with it.

“Oi Sunarin…why didn’t you help us?” Atsumu complained as he hived himself up from the ice where he just faceplanted, the evidence still marking a side of his face red.

“I did offer but you denied,” Suna sang and guided Yuki, who was squealing in fear, over the ice.

“You did not you fat liar!” 

A faint Atsumu was heard, but Suna already proceeded to slide away from the twins. They skated a few wobbly rounds on the rink. Yuki felt confident enough to try it on her own. She found herself slamming into the ice rink barriers because she couldn’t remember how to stop. Atsumu followed her example, while Osamu fell on his behind once more and refused with a red face help from the Middle Blocker who’d filmed all.

“Please never us never go after your crazy ideas again,” Yuki panted and rubbed her hands together. She was wearing gloves, but her hands still started to get cold.

“Yeah…not my best,” Atsumu agreed and grabbed her hand. “C’mon…I think it’s better if we steady ourselves….”

“You mean holding hands?”

“You didn’t seem to have a problem to hold hands with Sunarin.”

Yuki glanced at the blonde setter, was he pouting?

“Because he can actually skate” Yuki rolled her eyes. Still, she took Atsumu’s hand eventually, and the two slid on the ice. 

It didn’t take long…to be exact, not even a minute for the two to topple onto the ice again. Atsumu caught himself on the railing on the other side, but Yuki somehow managed to slam on the ice with her whole left side and groaned in defeat.

“Oh shit,” she cursed as she turned and sat on the ice wincing in pain as she touched her leg around her bad knee. “My leg didn’t like that…”

“Curses, Yuki...” Atsumu tried his best to kneel down and attempted to put his hands on hers too but didn#t. “Does it hurt badly….”

“Naa..” she winced, “But it’s better if I get off…help me up will ya?”

Atsumu tried his best to steady her, with an arm around his waist…but he was so wobbly on ice that he had to call over Suna, who was guiding Osamu with both of his hands. The middle blocker made sure to park the grey-haired twin at the entrance before sliding over and steading Yuki from the other side.

Osamu was already out of his shoes when they got there and reserved a bench for Yuki to sit on.

“Is it hurtin?” he asked and wondered why he was asking. Clearly, it was hurting from the expression on Yuki’s face, even though she denied it by shaking her head. The truth was she had a slight issue walking, and the fact that she was wearing tight jeans didn’t help.

“Should we head home?” Atsumu wondered, “I could carry you…”

“Don’t be ridiculous…I can walk,” she hissed.

“Yeah right…you had trouble toddling over here,” Osamu huffed. “How about we call dad to pick us up?”

“He’s not off from work for two plus hours,” Atsumu interjected.

“You can wait at my place…” Suna suggested, “ It’s not far away….we could…hang…it’s warm in there and stuff….”

“I don’t want to intrude,” Yuki hissed as she bent down to put on her own boots again. Damn laces.

“You’re not intruding if I offer…silly” Suna sighed and regretted his words after he saw Atsumu’s gleaming expression.

“Nee Sunarin…are you inviting us over? Finally,” Atsumu fist-pumped the air.

Osamu knew that Suna lived alone since he moved to Amagasaki. He was scouted by their Coach at the end of middle school and moved to Hyogo from the Aichi prefecture. He knew Suna lived alone because he’d told him that on that Sunday, they’d hung out together.  
Suna had claimed he was bored…because it’s what he always was on weekends when there was no tournament or training and Suna wasn’t on a train to visit his family…in fact, Samu knew Rin kept going there less and less.

He didn’t ask. Because that one time he did, Suna got silent and a bit defensive about it…maybe it was a money problem. Rin was enrolled in Inarizaki as a scholarship student. They paid half of his housing from what he knew…but there was something else. Osamu noticed it…Rin…he was secretly calling him Rin in his head. Osamu was confused why it made him so nervous…why Rintarō Suna made him so freaking nervous by doing nothing besides looking at him.

The two were leading the way while Atsumu and Yuki were a few steps behind them, bickering. Atsumu, who was giving Yuki a piggyback ride. Because, frankly, her leg was hurting more than the manager wanted to admit to, she was a victim to Yuki’s nagging that she was just fine and could walk. 

The little group walked towards an apartment building complex where Osamu knew many students from the Kansai University lived.

“Those two really are something…” Suna muttered, glancing back at Atsumu and Yuki as he pressed the button for the elevator. “Ah…the elevator is broken again…great…Oi…Blondy…are you ready to carry Snow White up a few floors.”

“I can walk!” Yuki said while Atsumu hollered, “Ofcourse I can!”

He did but regretted the ten stories he had to walk.

“You owe me loads of fancy tuna! Atsumu groaned as he finally let Yuki down when they were in front of him.

“I thought you said I wasn’t that heavy,” Yuki chuckled and patted his back soothingly. “Maybe you’re not as strong as you think you are…Tsumu…”

“I swear if I wasn’t out of breath I’d kill you pigtails…”

“Yeah right?”

“Are you two done?” Suna rolled his eyes. He’d already opened the door and was inside. He’d carelessly flipped off his shoes in the genkan and held out the door for the three first years who said “Ojama shimasu“ as they entered the small apartment.

It consisted of a relatively small entry hall, and door on the left that leads to a tiny kitchen, another one besides the kitchen door was for the bathroom and on the opposite side was the living room slash bedroom, which was covered with tatami mats, a collection of beanbags, and fluffy blankets that were arranged as a type of couch. Suna still had his Futon rolled out, and the beg was unmade.

“Yeah I wasn’t really planning on having any guests over…” Rintarou shrugged as he glanced at the disarray in the living room. “Make yourselves comfortable…there should be some snacks in the drawers next to the fridge…dunno if I have drinks…I’ll be right back..”

He disappeared into the bathroom while the other three made their way into the apartment. Osamu immediately went into the Kitchen, Atsumu followed behind closely while Yuki glanced around in the living room awestruck.

Suna had decorated an entire living room wall with frames and frames of pictures. Nature shots, close-ups of plants and animals. People, random photos of couples, parents with their children. Blurry images of fireworks and a ferry wheel and a girl that looked suspiciously like Suna around the age of eight…

“Yeah…that’s my sister” Rintarō’s voice reached Yuki’s ear as he viewed one picture where the little girl was grinning into the camera, green eyes flashing and her front tooth missing. “That’s Ran.”

“She’s cute…” Yuki touched the frame tracing the girl’s features with her fingers.

“Only in pictures she’s a devil” Suna smiled then tugged at Yuki’s arm. “I thought you might want to change out of those jeans…these might be a little big on you…”

He said, holding out a pair of sweatpants and his black Inarizaki hoodie.

“I put some first air stuff in the bathroom…feel free to use it…call me if you need help I guess” Suna shrugged and put the clothes into Yuki’s arms.

“Thanks Rin-Sunarin…are were on first name basis yet.”

Suna scoffed. “No…. Hokkyoku…we’re not…remember only If we have a deep emotional moment.”

“Alright Suna!” Yuki emphasized his last name, “Thanks….”

Yuki returned to the living room a few minutes later. She had to roll up the sweatpants' hems a few times. She took her time to put some cooling gel on her legs' swelling before she came into the living room where Osamu was currently having some sort of fit.  
That was new

“Don’t tell me ya eat all that crap…” he said calmly but angry at Suna and gestured towards the kitchen. 

“Alright…I’m not going to tell you,” Suna shrugged and side-eyed Atsumu munching on some chips on a beanbag.

“Ya really don’t have anything decent in this apartment….only instant crap!” Osamu now gestured wildly with his hands above his heads.

“So what…I am too tired to cook…and there is delivery…in fact…are y’all in the mood.”

“No!” Osamu said and turned on his heels. “I’m going to get some food and make dinner…you..I mean all of us could need something decent…Atsumu don’t spoil yourself with those chips before dinner….I’ll be back in a bit…”

And with that, Osamu left the apartment.

“Your brother is a bigger pain in the ass than you.”

“Thanks…” Atsumu snickered. “He’s a weirdo about food…I guess…what are you wearing?”

“Clothes Atsumu,” Yuki said and plopped onto a beanbag next to the blonde twin to grab some chips.

“Not yers.”

“Suna was so kind to lend me some,” Yuki yawned, then raised an eyebrow at Atsumu’s expression. He was pouting once again, “What are you mad that Osamu told you not to eat those before dinner?”

“Yeah….right…” Atsumu grumbled and sank lower into the bean bag. “Those pictures are decent Suna…didn’t know you liked photography….they look real and shit…”

“I sometimes go out and shoot stuff in the wild on days off…if the weather is nice and all,” Suna said, glancing at the pictures for a second, then turned around to face the other side of the living room where a surprisingly big TV was hung on the wall “Anyone up for some Mario Kart…”

“Oh you’re on!” both Yuki and Atsumu yelled.

Osamu returned with bags of groceries ten minutes later, another fifteen minutes later, the four were enjoying a quick beef, noodle, and vegetable stir fry that tasted delicious.

“Don’t mention it…” Osamu grumbled as he grabbed a mochi he’d gotten for dessert. “I made ya enough for the next week…”

“You also bought me stuff for the whole week” Suna rolled his eyes. “How much…I have to pay you back…”

“Don’t mention it…”

“Miya…how much…”

“Oi…Yuki…don’t fall off the beanbag” Yuki, who was curled up on the beanbag, was watching Atsumu beat his own personal time on the rainbow bridge track. After finishing her dinner, she’d put on the hood over her hair and pulled strings together, so only her face was visible. She grumbled but settled herself on the tatami still curled up. 

“Like a cat…” Suna muttered and smirked.

“She’ll also fall asleep soon” Osamu smiled at him. “She always does that…you wouldn’t believe the time Yuki only stayed over because she’d accidentally fallen asleep in our living room.”

“I’m not going to fall asleep” Yuki yawned and pulled her legs even closer to her body.

“I’ll give it five minutes…” Osamu said and started to gather the plates.

“Chill…” Suna rolled his eyes. “You’re the guest here…”

“I cooked,” Osamu shrugged and went to the kitchen to start washing the dishes in the sink, “and besides you don’t have a dish washer…”

Suna followed him, leaning against the kitchen counter, arguing, “That’s why I only eat instant food.” 

Osamu just rolled his eyes. “Geez I wonder how you stay so fit with all the junk you eat.” 

“Is there a compliment about my physique hidden in there somewhere?” Suna gasped, “Samu-chan…don’t tell me you’ve noticed my abs.”

“Domestic you Is horrible,” Osamu muttered with blushing ears.

“Yeah…but domestic you is…” Cute….Suna wanted to say but caught himself and cleared his throat before casually saying, “Yeah…so thanks and all that…you really didn’t needed to…I’ll pay you back…”

“Yeah yeah…” Osamu said after he finished the dished and dried his hands on a kitchen towel.

When they got back, Osamu grinned. “Told ya…five minutes…”

Yuki was fast asleep curled up in a ball. “You can’t take that girl anywhere…geez.”

Suna sighed and threw one of his blankets over her sleeping form.

“Gin just texted and said the date went well for him…Yuto not so much…” Atsumu said and put the controller down to show Suna and Osamu his phone. “Looks like our little Hitoshi got himself a girlfriend…scandalous….”

“Surprising…” Osamu nodded at the selfie of Gin and Asuka he’d send into the group chat. “Didn’t think Gin would be the first to have a girlfriend…”

“Who else did you think?” Atsumu grabbed another mocha and threw it in his mouth.

“You to be honest,” Osamu declared and glanced at Yuki’s sleeping from.

“Yeah…I guess I have a lot of fangirls because I’m awesome like that…and that one cheerleader chick was cute and stuff….” Atsumu smirked. “But she told me she wasn’t interested after we had that kiss….”

“Wait what?” Suna glanced up. “That Megumi girl…who’d pecked you on the cheek?”

“Cheek and later…well It was a good luck charm and all…” Atsumu smirked triumphantly then hesitated. “Bad thing that we lost the game after…oh well…I actually haven’t seen her after that…being sick and not bein’ at school and all…but I guess…maybe…”

“So you really like her?” Osamu said in confusion and shared a glance with Suna.

“She’s hot…” Atsumu shrugged. “I guess…and she’d like interested in me…anyways. I called dad and he’ll pick us up in half an hour …I think it’s better we get ‘er home…I already texted Hisashi-san that Yu is with us.”

They played another few rounds of Mario Kart before Atsumu’s phone rang. Their dad was downstairs waiting in the car. Osamu volunteered to wake up Yuki, who grumbled and stated that she was not sleeping and slumped towards the front door still in Suna’s clothes.

Osamu sighed and gathered her backpack and clothes while Atsumu clapped Suna on his back. 

“Thanks for lettin’ us stay dude…t’was fun…” he pronounced, “Beating you for first place and all…”

“If only for that stupid blue shell,” Suna grimaced, thinking about his close second place in the last race.”

He watched as the three put on their shoes, Yuki steadied herself on the wall as he did.

“See ya guys at school…” the middle blocker said 

“Yeah…don’t be late and stuff…we have mornin’ practice…” Atsumu groaned as he remembered

“But not afternoon right…?” Suna glancing at the wall where Yuki was steadying herself. A small calendar was hung up there “Because Kita and the coach are going to that middle school tournament in the afternoon.”

“What?” Yuki’s head whipped towards the calendar and groaned, “Right…I forgot that it’s tomorrow…..I have to go too…”

Then she frowned and looked at the calendar again when she noticed a little marking for the 25th of January. Oh… It was precisely next week.

“Say…are you going home any time soon Suna” Yuki wondered, glancing at the calendar.

“N-no….”Suna said quietly, “Not with the exams coming up and stuff…I’ll visit after the finals…before second year…”

Osamu noticed the strange tone Suna was using…but the two others just shrugged. However, later when she was at home, Yuki came to another conclusion… Suna wouldn’t go home for the next weekend…which meant he’d be here…alone…

That’s why the next day, Yuki talked to Kita, Aran, and Omimi senpai, who were all at the middle school tournament with her, and said, “So…Suna’s birthday is coming up in a few days…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Teaser for "How to get away with murder"
> 
> It was the end of the working day for the Inarizaki-Rice factory workers and the men and women happily went home to their families after a long day of labor. The rice mills had shut down, the constant sound of rushing grains no longer filled the air of the great hall and packages of produce were ready to be shipped out to supermarkets and stores, just before the new harvest would arrive early in the morning and the cycle would continue.
> 
> The workers were happy to have a job in this economy, it wasn’t much, and they would not get wealthy with their wages, but there was a pride in simple humility, it was good and honest work. So they thought… If they only knew that their honest labor during the day was interlaced with criminal activity. They were so damn naïve. If only they knew that hidden between the rice grains were drugs and money. Secretly added in by the “night shift” of the Inarizaki spoiling their sincere dedication.
> 
> Ironic how the grains were of pure white innocence albeit they should be tainted red with blood.
> 
> But no one questioned why the daytime workers weren’t allow near the cellar door. No one questioned why the people who came close to that door suddenly disappeared. If they had an inclination, it was smarter to stay dumb, lie low and pray to the gods that they remained the innocent lambs they were. Because if you dared to go down the deep dark burrow behind that door, the foxes would come and get you.
> 
> The foxes that lived deep under the factory and came out at night to hunt, prey, and kill.
> 
> https://smolmo.tumblr.com/post/640335221244493824/how-to-get-away-with-murder-teaser-hello-everyone


	16. Samu, yer tomato sauce tastes like ketchup.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Something is up...and Suna is confused
> 
> TW. Underage Smoking at the end.

Okay…something was definitely wrong with Atsumu and Yuki. Suna thought to himself. More than usual, that is. First, he was weird about the manager leaving with the third year and the coaches to watch the middle schoolers’ tournament in Kobe. The rest of the team wasn’t invited as they didn’t want to make a ruckus. But Atsumu pouted more about the fact that he and Osamu had to stay longer in school and clean up the chem lab because they apparently had started a small fight during class there. 

The next day something was very different. 

Atsumu was unnecessarily petty and jealous because Yuki gave Suna back his clothes, washed and neatly packed in a small bag with some cookies as a thank you before classes started. She gave him a small awards one-armed hug, meaning she barely snaked her arm around his waist and patted his back once. Then during lunch, he stayed in his classroom to lay down for a nap. He heard from some girls in his class that apparently, one of the Miya twins had an argument with that manager girl.

He saw Megumi perk up and swish her long hair back, smugly then turned to her best friend- what’s-her-face and started plotting. Suna rolled his eyes and napped over his math notes.

He overheard Ginjima and Yūto talk about the rumor with Akaagi and Aran while he changed in silence at afternoon practice. Apparently, Atsumu was fussing over her injury and her upcoming doctor’s appointment on Wednesday afternoon.

Something about this interaction was strange, their conversation was clunky, and it seemed a little staged. Still, he didn’t pay much attention because Osamu came into the dressing room and started unbuttoning his shirt, clearly pissed off about something.

As he shrugged off his shirt, he sides eyed Suna. They pointedly looked at his phone and decided to proceed into the gym where Kita and Omimi were already putting up the net while Yuki helped them.

Atsumu overly dramatically came into the gym, already dressed. His twin right behind him rolling his eyes.

“We like need to talk Yuki” he tapped his foot and gestured in an exaggerated movement towards the door.

Yuki jumped a little at his tone and nervously stuttered, “can you please go and be stupid somewhere that’s away from me.”

Osamu facepalmed, muttering something about being convincing very quietly. But Suna didn’t hear him. He eyed Kita, who was observing the louder getting banter quietly before he finally told Atsumu to let Yuki be.

Suna also caught Omimi patting her head and saying to Yuki that she had to try a little harder…and he wasn’t sure why he was telling that to her while she helped with the net.

On Wednesday, at morning practice, the two kept bickering, this time, it was more serious. Probably because Yuki kept nagging Atsumu about being late again, and he snapped at her calling her a pretentious nuisance.

Yuki blinked at him in surprise and then snarled something about her, surprised that he knew words like these. Their fight or whatever was getting more serious…so why did Rintaro caught Aran nod approvingly at them bickering.

Yuki didn’t come to afternoon practice because of said doctor’s appointment. When she joined them on Thursday, something about her was different. She was grimacing the whole time during morning practice. She didn’t talk to anyone and silently underwent the blonde setter’s teases. 

When they changed their outdoor shoes at the locker, she finally snapped at Atsumu’s tease teary-eyed when he didn’t stop and moved along to class. The blonde setter was taken aback by this and turned to his brother, who shrugged.

Atsumu was about to hurry after her but was stopped by Megumi, who called out to him in a shrill voice, “Atsumu-kun, good morning…um…do you have a minute.”

Yuki glanced back at this, rolled her eyes, and got to class. During lunch that day, she paid Suna a visit and told him that she had enough of the twins’ antics for the day and would much rather spend the day with him.

“Are you…okay Hokkyoku?” Suna asked when Yuki had finished her lunch and slumped her head on his desk, groaning.

“Peachy,” she muttered and rubbed her eyes, “I got the clear to join gym class again…yesterday…but the doctor said and I wanted to immediately go and rejoin the girls’ team…turns out…we don’t have a team anymore!”

“Really?” Suna raised an eyebrow. “But why?”

“Most of the girls were in third year anyway, our coach left the school last week because he found another coaching gig in another prefecture. Miko-senpai was the only second year left who really wanted to continue playing…but she can’t alone so she will transfer to Kobe next year… can’t play in a team without a team right…”

“You can still play though..Right?…” Suna pushed his chocolate bar towards her.

“Yeah, so I called up a neighborhood team and can occasionally join them…but I guess I will have my hands full with you guys from now on” She sighed and grabbed the chocolate, breaking it in two and offering Suna the other part.

Suna wondered about this morning; she hadn’t said a thing about her news. “Do the twin’s know?” 

“Wanted to tell them during lunch…. but Atsumu-kun and Osamu-kun were occupied with some girls…” Yuki spat out, and her voice pitched higher at the added suffixes.

The middle blocker choked on his piece of chocolate. “What now?”

“Megumi and a few of her friends are currently in our classroom making a fuzz and chatting up the twins….Tsumu seems to enjoy the attention. Samu is politely conversing with some but I don’t think he is interested.”

Rintaro paused and glanced at Yuki, who wasn’t really paying attention to him. He didn’t see any indication of why she was telling him that fact about Osamu…so he guessed that she didn’t know.

“He’s a strange one…Osamu I mean…never really know what he thinks.”

“Samu?” Yuki chuckled “90% of the time he is thinking about what to eat next I guess…but yeah he is a little bit closed off. Actually his actions speak louder than his words…probably because Tsumu never lets him talk in the first place…guess they show their affection in different ways…”

“And since Atsumu never stops talking he shows affection…towards you” Suna grinned slyly and caught the blush that was creeping up Yuki’s pale face.

“He’s a friend after all…” she said and cleared her throat, then shook her head. “I rather not talk about that jerk right now…he is being unusually annoying…”

“And that surely has nothing to do with him chatting with Megumi?”

“No,” Yuki stated, “He can talk to her or any girl how many times he wants… I mean I talk to other boys too…so…I-I mean I am talking to you…”

“Yeah, we’re teammates…you talk to teammates…but I never saw you chat with anyone else”

“Guys, just don’t talk to me I guess…” she shrugged, and Rintaro wanted to facepalm at her obliviousness. “Never did.”

Suna glanced around. At this moment, a few of his male classmates glanced curiously at the lack of Miya’s around Yuki. When they saw Suna looking at them, their heads quickly whipped away. 

“Because the twins were playing bodyguards and nobody dared to come close… “Suna told her and smirked as the realization dawned on her face.

“Oh…so that’s why all of a sudden that guy from the Basketball team said hi to me on my way here…” Yuki furrowed her brow. “Actually there were a few guys who said Hi and….oh…”

She chewed on her upper lip and glanced around as if she suddenly felt the gaze of the boys on her more intensely. “You… don’t seem to like the attention”

“It’s weird.-.” Yuki admitted then shook her head, patting her cheeks softly, to wake herself up from a thought she had. “Anyway…Suna…I wanted to ask if you are up for a study session on Saturday…you can come over, we’ll have some snacks and stuff.”

“Hokkyoku…” Suna waited before he continued speaking, eying the girl curiously “is this you trying to ask me out?”

“What No! Ew Gosh no!” she pulled her tonged out. 

“Gee thanks…”

“No offense,” Yuki shrugged, and Rintarou shrugged back, “None taken.”

“It’s just to hang out…and study… I mean you’re in a college prep class…and I am thinking to transfer to one next year…you know…since I probably have to say goodbye to high school volleyball and thus a pro carrier sponsored by a scholarship…”

She sighed and glanced at him pursing her lips a little, and Suna wasn’t sure what to say. He read some exaggeration in her expression…maybe a hint of guilt-tripping? But there was also some authenticity in her words. A confusing paradox, so he asked about the twins. Yuki got a little nervous and stated that they were busy that day…in a way that he didn’t get. 

That’s why he found himself on the bus on late Saturday afternoon. The weather had turned all of a sudden, and the end of January greeted them with a flurry of sleet, thick and unforgiving. Rintarou had almost considered telling Yuki that he’d rather stay at home and come to her place another day…but she was very persistent. 

“You really didn’t have to come and pick me up from the bus stop you know” Suna sighed as he hopped off the bus and glanced down at the manager, who looked even smaller in the flurry of snow and rain “You didn’t even bring an umbrella…”

“Hello to you too Suna” the brunette rolled her eyes, teeth clattering a little as she spoke, “No big deal, I’m fine with picking you up…. besides I am not good at explaining routes…”

“Figures,” the middle blocker stated and shoved his hands into his pockets “Since you get lost everywhere you go…”

Yuki rolled her eyes and turned on her spot, and got going. “Yeah, Yeah…smartass…just let’s get goin’ or we’ll stick to the ground in these temperatures…”

“Hold up…I got an umbrella in my backpack…” Suna said and got one with a pastel polka dot pattern out of his backpack. “Don’t ask questions….my sister gave me that one…and I didn’t bother go get a decent one.”

“It’s cute I guess…” Yuki shrugged and scooted closer to both the middle blocker and her were shielded from the downpour. “Suits you…”

Suna rolled his eyes and gave a small jerk of his head, silently telling Yuki to get going. He was surprised to see that they went left. He thought that the Hokkyoku’s apartment would be the opposite way from his little research of the area. She led him to and part of the district where families had houses—no apartment buildings in sight.

“I thought you lived in an apartment complex…” Suna said as he glanced around.

“Um…I do..,” Yuki said nervously “It’s just…before we get to my place…I remembered that I needed to get a thing from the Miyas’. Samu accidentally took my biology book in class. If you don’t mind, I’d just quickly grab it from him…”

“Sure…I don’t mind…” Suna shrugged “Just make it quick… it’s cold.”

Yuki sighed in relief and brushed adjusted the damp beanie on her head a little. It had started to soak her hair a little. Suna had to remind her that she should immediately dry it when they got home before the manager got a head cold.

It didn’t take long, and the two first-years stood in front of the small but well cared-after house of the Miyas. They had a small garden littered with volleyballs and a dirt mark on the wall, where Suna presumed the twins’ practices spikes. 

He was able to hear sounds, like the TV or some music playing, which immediately died down when Yuki pressed the doorbell. 

“C’ming just a moment, please,” a women’s voice sang. The door was opened by Shizue Miya, the twins’ mother, and Suna was surprised to see that she looked very much like the twins and had warm brown eyes like Atsumu.   
“Oh…Yuki-chan… that’s a surprise…are you here to see the twins...And who are you?”

She smiled gently at Suna, but there was something hidden behind that smile. It was very much like Atsumu just before he decided to faint in volleyball. 

“That’s Suna…Shizue-san…sorry for intruding but Osamu accidentally packed my Math book in class…I would like to get It back.”

“Sure” Shizue nodded “Why don’t you come in for a second…I don’t want you two to freeze outside…Suna-kun if you don’t mind leaving the umbrella outside? You can prop it against the wall.”

“Of course Miya-san,” Suna said and did as she asked, then he furrowed his brows…noticing something. Math book… didn’t Yuki say earlier that it was her Biology book?

They got on and took off their shoes; Shizue urged them to take off their coats, scarves, and hats too and told them, “To go sit down in the living room.”

Rather unnecessarily loudly and emphasized that is.

“I know where that is” Yuki equally as loud exclaimed, and Suna wondered if her brain had frozen from the cold outside “Follow me Suna!” She said, emphasizing each word.

“Hokkyoku… you’re being weird,” he stated as he shuffled after her hands, shoved deep into his pockets, to warm them up.

“Whaaaaat noooo silly” she muttered nervously and very loudly, hurrying a little faster and almost stumbled over the threshold of the living room if Suna hadn’t reacted and pulled her back with a firm grip on her arm. 

He was about to say something when all of a sudden loud pops interrupted as people jumped in front of them shouting “SURPRIIIISE!”

Suna blinked as confetti settled on the floor and saw the whole Inarizaki team, holding out party poppers and grinning widely at him.

“Look at his face,” Atsumu laughed, pointing at Suna “Did anyone get that? Please tell me someone recorded that!”

“I have….” Omimi who’d had been hidden in the wall cabinet stoically, said, still holding a phone in front of his face. Kita stood beside him, a faint smile on his lips, the party popper still in his hands. On the other hand, Gin, Yūto, and Akaagi had thrown them aside. They were collecting the confetti on the ground to throw it in the air again. 

Aran, who’d caught the used poppers, glanced at his teammates dancing and let out a little sigh but turned to smile at Suna. 

The twins were in the front Atsumu grinning widely, while Osamu also gave an impish smile, although he was trying to hide it with his palm.

“Wha-what’s going on here,” Suna said after blinking at every one of them, then glanced at Yuki, who winked at him.

“Welcome to you Birthday Party Suna Rintarō” she grinned and punched his arm playfully.

“But…I” Suna once more glanced around the room “How? My birthday is tomorrow”

“That’s why we’re havin’ a freaking slumber party” Atsumu came over and patted his back violently, “Yu-chan’s stupid study session was all a scheme to get you here…”

“Yu-chan…wait… aren’t you two fighting?” the middle blocker was confused as Miya, and Hokkyoku grinned at each other.

Osamu chuckled “Yeah, can’t believe you actually fell for their terrible acting….”

“This was all an act?”

“Yeah…Yu, thought of it …and involved the third years on Monday” Osamu said while Atsumu coaxed the middle blocker into the room to join the others who had seated themselves around kotatsu, which was loaded with bowls of snacks.

“Akaagi-senpai was the mastermind behind the fight plan” Yuki said and ran her fingers through her hair “Gosh, I actually can’t believe that worked….

“Yeah, me neither…you really are bad at fighting” Atsumu laughed and patted her head “What was that again can you please go and be stupid somewhere that’s away from me” he mimicked her voice. She elbowed him in his side.

“I meant that one” she rolled her eyes as he caught her in a headlock and ruffled her hair. Yuki squealed out loud, protesting and hitting Atsumu’s arms.

“Atsumu, play nice!” Shizue Miya’s voice interrupted the scuffles, and Atsumu immediately dropped his hands, acting all innocent.

Mama Miya was leaning in the doorway smilingly observing the high schoolers, then said, “Alright, Osamu, I’ve prepped everything so far in the kitchen, I suppose you can handle yourself in there?”

“Yes, Okaa-san, “Osamu nodded “I’ll be there in a bit.. don’t worry I aint letting Tsumu anywhere near the kitchen”

“That’s good to hear” Shizue smiled at the group “Isamu and I are going on tonight, call us if there is an emergency…alright?”

“Thank you for having us Miya-san,” Kita said with a little bow, the others following suit.

“It’s alright, I like that the team is finally over” she chuckled “Take it as a thank you for taking care of my sons and Yuki so well…”

She then turned to Suna and gently touched his cheek “Happy early Birthday Suna-kun…enjoy your party”

“Thanks” Suna muttered, a little embarrassed by the gesture, and Shizue laughed.   
She then gently patted his cheek before she reminded Yuki to go and dry off her hair by stroking it over her head.

“Right” Yuki nodded, smiling at her, then excused herself.

When she returned, Suna had somehow recovered from the surprise’s initial shock and was seated between Gin and Omimi around the Kotatsu. They played a round of Jenga with Akaagi. At the same time, Atsumu explained to Kita how to customize his Mii on their Nintendo Wii.  
Osamu was, of course, in the kitchen. Checking on the pizza dough that had risen correctly.

“Need a hand Samu?” Yuki said, stretching a hand out to grab some of the shredded cheese from one of the bowls with the toppings. Osamu reacted quickly and slapped her hand away before she could touch it.

“Ya just eat everything and don’t help…yer just as bad as Tsumu.”

“Excuse me I know how to handle myself in a kitchen Samu” Yuki pouted “I’m tons better than Atsumu!”

“I heard that!” Atsumu yelled from the kitchen.

“At least I don’t interchange salt with sugar!” Yuki retorted and continued to put her hair in a bun and looked for the spare apron.   
“Samu, you knead and roll out the dough and I’ll put the tomato sauce on in…. did you get everyone’s favorite toppings?”

“Yeah… they’re fine with whatever,” Osamu said and began kneading the dough and rolled it out on the countertop with practiced hands.

“How’s Suna dealing with the surprise.” Yuki asked as she watched them. She was munching on a red bell pepper slice.

“Good…. I think he recovered from the initial shock. He was curious how all of us would fit in the living room and concerned about him not anything to wear to sleep” he chuckled “He was…surprised to know that we were making pizza instead of ordering…”

“Why are you sounding so surprised?” Yuki asked, snatching some cheese.

Osamu got quiet and mumbled out his next sentence, so only Yuki was able to hear, “Dunno…because…I guess he stuttered something about my actions speaking…but he didn’t say more…so I’m just…nevermind…stop eating the toppings!”

“I’m not!” Yuki said with a mouth full of shredded cheese.

“Please, don’t turn into my brother…” Osamu sighed and shoved the sizeable squared baking tray which he put the rolled out dough towards Yuki and pushed the self-spiced tomato paste towards her as well.  
Yuki grabbed a tiny spoon and tasted the sauce nodding in approval “Delicious as ever Sam…”

Osamu and Yuki prepped two large trays of pizzas and returned to the living room once they were in the oven. They met Isamu and Shizue in the hallway; they were going out on a date and were wearing their best clothes.

“Call us if the boys give you any trouble Yuki” Isamu chuckled as he affectionately patted her head once they told them to have fun.

“I think I can handle those boys” Yuki grinned, and Isamu laughed out loud “Yeah, I don’t doubt it”

As they returned, Aran just managed to collapse their Jenga tower on top of a bowl of peanuts, much to Yūto and Akaagi’s amusement and Omimi’s dismay since most of them fell into his lap.

Kita gave Gin tips on his Mii customization while Atsumu and Suna were chatting about the Miya cat that had curled up in Suna’s lap.

“Careful Sunarin, she might look all cute n shit…but she’s a devil” Atsumu side-eyed Mochi that shot him a cool glance and purred in Suna’s lap.

“You only say that because she doesn’t like you,” Osamu said and plopped down next to Suna, Yuki the following suit and sat beside Atsumu.

“She is a vicious beast!” Atsumu insisted, and the three others looked at the ball of fluff, not believing him.

“Atsumu and Mochi, always fight over tuna…” Yuki explained to Suna, “He is always a bit childish about that…”

The blonde setter nodded furiously “Yes Mochi is…”

“I think she meant you Tsumu,” Osamu yawned and grabbed some of the snacks on the kotatsu.

“Shut up Samu, yer tomato sauce tastes like ketchup!”

“Fine…If you don’t like it…. starve…” Osamu shrugged, eying the cat on Suna’s lap. “It’s very weird that she chooses your lap to sit on…whenever Yuki’s here she is always running after her.”

“Guess the cat has taste,” Suna smirked and wanted to wink at Yuki, but he caught Osamu’s gaze. He turned a little bit red around the nose. 

“I like…it… Suna said, glancing at Osamu for a second, then scratched the cat behind her ears “the cat, I mean…”

“I…” Osamu began to retort then saw Yuki curiously darting her eyes between the two of them. She was squinting a little, and that small line that always appeared when she thought when between her brows was visible. So he said, “I’m gonna check on the pizza….”

Yuki watched Suna’s eyes follow Osamu’s back as he went out of the living room, and their gazes met. Yuki opened his mouth to say something but Suna quickly shoot his head. Not here…not now…

Thankfully Atsumu interrupted the conversation before it could continue. 

“Neee Yuki-chwan!” he said, putting a large hand on top of her hair and pulling her in “You need to do your Mii”

“I already have one dumbass?” Yuki swatted his hand away, grumbling as he messed up her bun.

“Yeah, but you don’t look like that anymore,” he said, glancing down at her, trying to fix the bun “Your hair is longer and…since when is it wavy?” 

He ran his fingers through one of the locks that fell over Yuki’s shoulder, holding it up to observe the strand between his fingers.

“It’s always like this, “Yuk shrugged and slapped his hand away “I usually brush them out but could I find a decent brush in this house? No! Because you keep hogging them in yer room.”

“Well…it…looks nice…I guess,” Atsumu stated, watching as the manager ran her own fingers through her hair to comb out the waves. 

Once Osamu got back, they started playing. Kita surprised them all by winning at bowling. Despite never having played on the Wii before. They had pizza fresh out of the oven, and the team basically inhaled the excellent food. After dinner, Yuki excused herself to go change into loungewear and soon one after the other got comfortable.

The plan was that they’d put away the kotatsu, move the couch to the wall, get out futons, and sleep in the living room. There was a small discussion about who should rest on the sofa, but Kita decided rather quickly that it would be Yuki. She protested, claiming that she was okay with getting a futon but quickly stopped arguing once Kita glanced at her and shook his head. 

Some of the guys decided to head outside to play volleyball. In contrast, the other half played Jenga and on the Wii, and somehow Gin managed to get the third-year to join another stupid round of truth or dare. This time it was less feral because Kita was watching. Thankfully the worst thing that happened was Atsumu getting scratched by Mochi as he was dared to kiss her, a very stoic performance of call you Maybe by Omimi and Yuki trying to give Akaagi a piggyback ride. They had an arm-wrestling contest. They all lost against Aran, and no one wanted to play with Yuki, to which she rolled her eyes and called them out on their misogyny. After that, she won against Yūto and almost got Suna, who got a bit distracted. Osamu got up from behind him and brushed his back while getting up to go to the kitchen.

Then Atsumu asked if they’d all like to watch Captain America since they got the DVD a few days ago. Hence, everyone got comfortable watching the movie. It was getting close to midnight when the biggest ruckus died down. Only some commentary and the occasional munch of snacks was heard. Yuki was trying not to fall asleep because midnight was approaching. She might have thought because she couldn’t remember that Osamu went to the kitchen once more and only realized it when he came back holding a cake with sixteen flaming candles. The rest of the team started singing.

She lifted her head off Atsumu’s shoulder and joined in as Suna, clearly embarrassed by this whole situation.

He glanced up at Osamu, the small dancing flames illuminating his face as he saw the cake. It was a tropical jelly fruit cake. “Thanks guys…” he muttered as he glanced at it and quickly snapped a picture with his phone.

“Samu made that one too,” Atsumu grinned, also filming “Was in the kitchen the whole day yesterday…I wasn’t even allowed to grab a bowl of cereal.”

“That’s because you burn everything you touch!” Osamu snarled.

“Not cereal.”

“I’m sure you would burn cereal too” Osamu rolled his eyes then turned to Suna “I think you like jelly…soo…I guess…make a wish in…” He glanced at his watch on his wrist and started the countdown, and the others joined

10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2.1..

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!”

“All the best!”

“Congrats! Sweet Sixteen!”

“Go on blow out the Candles!”

“Make a wish!”

“Hurry up I wanna eat!”

They got and distributed the cake, and Suna had opened his present. They all gave him a polaroid camera to make some memories. 

“Even we don’t need them,” Atsumu had joked and got kicked in the back for that comment.

“When do we get to give you your birthday punches Rin?” Akaagi asked after everyone had finished slices of cake and was in a post cake coma.

“Birthday punches?” Yuki chuckled “What are you five?”

Akaagi, however, skipped her question and turned to his team “So how are we going to do this? 16 each…minus Yuki because she is so much more mature than we?” 

“Na…16 in total…we don’t wanna bruise the b day boy!” Atsumu said and delivered the first punch on his upper arm. 

“I’m surrounded by idiot” Yuki exclaimed and stood up to gather the used plates to bring them to the kitchen. She was putting the dishes in the dishwasher. She heard laughter echoing from the living room when a hand suddenly patted her head.

“Thanks and stuff for the party…” Suna’s voice said while his hand rested on her head, “I…um….”

“Is this our emotional moment Sunarin?” Yuki chuckled sheepishly and shook her head.

“Naa…not there yet,” the middle blocker smirked and glanced at his phone in his hands. It was vibrating. “Um…do you know a place where I could accept a call…

“Yeah. The guest room down the hall has a little more privacy… I’ll lead you there” Yuki said and hurried along. 

“Could you like…stay?” Suna asked as he plopped down on the bed staring at the screen “and close the door?”

“Sure…” Yuki raised her eyebrows but sat down next to him as Suna pressed to call back button.

“Hey mom…” he said hoarsely, and there was a layer of thick sadness lacing his tone “….yeah…thanks… I’m actually at a friend’s house….yes a party…they surprised me…yes… I’ll send you pictures….is dad? Busy…yeah, sure…no It’s okay I get it…. thanks for the call…and.”

“RIN-NII!” Another voice bellowed through the speaker, making Suna smile “Heyy…Ran… shouldn’t you be in bed by now?”

“Why didn’t you come over for your birthday. Congrats by the way you stinky head!” 

“Thanks, Ran….I couldn’t I have exams and stuffstuff coming up… I’ll be home soon..”

“Good! Because I miss you mum too…and I bet dad does too”

Suna’s face fell at these words “Yeah…I guess…thanks for your call little one!”

“I’m not little I’m the tallest in my year!”

“Keep telling yourself that kid” Suna chuckled “Thanks for the call….I promise we’ll eat some cake when I get home…”

He talked with his mother again for half a minute, short promised to take care. Still, Suna ended the call rather quickly, sat in the room for a solid minute in silence, and stared at the wall. Yuki moved her hand over his squeezing it. Not saying anything as Suna leaned down to rest his temple against her shoulder. Yuki pressed his hands again three times.  
Are you okay?

Suna squeezed back once, and she didn’t know if it was a yes…or a no.  
She didn’t have the chance to ask because the door slammed open, and Atsumu came into the room yelling over his head, “Why yer sending me to get the damn futon Samu you lazy piece of…Shit”

He blinked once at Suna and Yuki sitting on the bed, and although Suna’s head quickly had whipped up, they were still holding hands. A muscle in his face twitched as he clenched his jaw.

“Wanted ta get the spare futon’s from under the bed…mind moving so I coul get em?” he said, glaring a little at the two. Suna glanced back bored and rolled his eyes, and the two boys seemed to have a silent conversation.

“Sure…wait I’ll just get them” Yuki, not noticing the eye contact between the boys and dove to get the futons from under the bed “But we are going to resume the movie aren’t we?”

“Yeah,” Atsumu said and took the matrasses from her tiny form, “But we all wanted to get more comfy…the third years are currently in the bathroom upstaired, brushing their teeth and stuff…I told Gin and Yuto to use the one downstairs, they’re finished…you two should also get ready…”

“Yeah…I kinda need to step outside for a moment…” Suna said, “Clear my head and stuff…”

“All by yourself? You sure?” Yuki glanced at the middle blocker, and he nodded “Yeah, don’t worry about it Hokkyoku…”

“Good, then I’ll go brush my teeth and stuff…” she said and skipped away.  
Atsumu and Suna awkwardly looked at each other, and the middle blocker spoke first.

“There was nothing-“

“Don’t care…” Atsumu interrupted.

“Miya we didn’t-“

“Don’t wanna hear it…stay away from he-“

“As I was trying to say…”

“It’s yer birthday so I don wanna start shit…just…you know…”

Suna snickered, shaking his head, “You’re ridiculous…you know…that…anyway… I’ll step outside for a sec…gotta make a call…”

“Right!” Atsumu said flatly and watched as Suna put on his shoes and coat and went outside.

Yuki had meanwhile brushed her teeth and snuggled in one of the futons that had already been laid out.

“Aren’t you are supposed to sleep on the couch? “Aran said as he settled himself into his own, while the others grabbed the spare futons from Atsumu.

“Yeah, but I ain’t going to sleep right now… we’re watching the movie still and I can’t see from back there..”

“I’ll bet that 5 minutes into the movie she’ll be asleep” Osamu declared “Two Yakisoba buns.”

“Ten minutes!” Gin said, and Akaagi stated that he believed in her and that she’d make it to fifteen.

“I hate all of you!” Yuki yawned, eyes already half-closed as she curled herself in a ball.

Five minutes later, everyone was settled in, and they pressed play on the movie.

“Where is Sunarin?” Omimi asked, glancing around “Still in the bathroom?”

“Outside…had to make a call,” Atsumu grumbled, glancing at Yuki’s curled up from and sighed since the manager was already fast asleep saying, “Samu wins the bet.”

He got up and carried her over to lay her on the couch, stroking a hair behind her ear as she mumbled something incoherent in her sleep.

“Yakisoba for me” Osamu said and got up “I’m gonna check on the birthday boy…be right back…”

Osamu put on his coat and scarf and went outside. The sleet had turned into proper snowfall by now alongside colder temperatures. Suna wasn’t outside the house. He must have walked a little away to chat…but Osamu was surprised to see him leaning against the street lamp across the house. He had his back turned, and Osamu just saw a stream of smoke coming from him.

“Does Kita know that you smoke`” he said as he approached the middle blocker, making him jump.

“Shit…you scare the shit out of me…” Suna said, lowering the cigarette to flick some of the ashes away. “What are you doing here?”

“How do you even get those…?” Osamu asked, noticing the outline of a package in his jacket pocket.

“You didn’t aswer my question”

“You didn’t mine”

“Are you a parrot Osamu?”

“Maybe….” The grey-haired twin grinned a little “I was looking for you…actally…”

“I needed some time to think, smoking helps…I get them from some of the studets in my apartment complex…no big deal.”

“It’s unhealthy…” Osamu said simply.

“Wanna try it?” Suna said, holding his cigarette out towards him. Osamu considered for a moment but got a hold of it, took a drag, and coughed immediately. 

Suna snickered “Thought so…” 

“Disgusting”

“Relaxing…”

Suna took another drag before throwing the stump onto the street and stomping on it with his foot.

“What did you need to clear your head off for?” Osamu asked, watching him.

“Stuff...Stuff...thoughts… I’m sixteen now…starting to think about the future might be a good idea…shit scares me…”

“Penny for those thoughts…?”

“Naa…I don’t think you’d like to hear em,” Suna smirked a little “We established that you’re not interested…so I keep my thoughts to myself…and my mouth too…”

“You’re mouth?” Osamu suddenly flushed but was brave enough to look into Suna’s face that deadpanned.

“Ups,” he said without a real trace of regret, “I think I just shared my thoughts anyway…”

He watched as Osamu opened his mouth, then closed it. He did that three times, which made Suna laugh out loud. 

“I’m joking Miya…relax…”

“I-you…ya can’t just say stuff like that!” Osamu started, gesturing with his hands, “I mean I….”

“Dude, chill…” Suna rolled his eyes and moved forwards to pat his shoulder “I don’t want to do anything to make you uncomfortable… I’m just teasing…you…need some time to figure out stuffstuff…I already have for myself…I get it… it’s hard and confusing. I won’t make a move on you before you figure out shit.”

Suna thought of that unfortunate Sunday all those weeks ago when Suna misread Osamu and had moved too close for comfort.

“Let’s get inside before you become a snowman Miya,” Suna said and moved past him back in the direction of the house.

“Is that what you wished for?” Osamu muttered, stopping the middle blocker in his track, “Your birthday wish…you had looked at me before that…”

“Maybe..” Suna chuckled and buried his hands in the pocket of his jacket.

“Just freaking tell me Suna…” Osamu growled a little causing Rintarō to raise an eyebrow.

“If I tell you my wish it won’t come true…” the green-eyed middle blocker said and wanted to retort something else when all of a sudden he was pulled close.

Osamu had grabbed the front of his jacket and pressed his lips on Suna’s, heated in a fury, which only grew when Osamu realized that Suna tasted like smoke. It mixed weirdly with his own taste in his mouth. Spearmint and Smoke, a weird and confusing combination that lasted for a moment before Osamu let go of him, blushing profoundly.

“There…you I’m only doing this because It’s for your birthday…” Osamu grunted and passed Suna “Don’t ya complain….”

“I-“Suna blinked then caught himself “Thanks? I guess?”

“Shut, up…go and brush yer teeth…”

“With all that spearmint you transferred…I don’t think I need to…” Suna chuckled then raised his hands defensively when he saw Osamu’s face.

He was still red in the face, but his eyes darted around in confusion.

“Alright” Suna said a little bit more gently, “I will…and for the record…if you want…this thing didn’t happen…”

Osamu made a sound that sounded like “hmpf” and stomped away.

“Sweet sixteen and never been kissed my ass Miya…” Suna muttered to himself a little bit too triumphantly than he should.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Birthday Sunarin!
> 
> I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. I personally had a fun time writing it.  
> Thinking back to all the things 2011/2012 because technically the story plays in January 2012. So Wii and "call me maybe" it is!  
> ´  
> I'll be taking a short hiatus until mid-February from this fanfic to focus on my Valentine special.


	17. Seriously fancy?...by the trash cans?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of Suna's birthday and rumors start up at Inarizaki.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya! This chapter can be seen as a little more expository because I once more caught myself in the plot.  
> I've decided that I'm going to try to upload every three weeks. Currently, I'm trying to expand my writing to more things.

In the early hours of Suna’s actual birthday, Yuki awoke because one of the boys was snoring rather loudly. She blinked against the faint light peeking from the shutters and realized that someone had carried her over to the sofa and tugged her in. Something heavy on her chest moved and put a soft paw on her face.

Mochi was awake too and purred once. An explicit instruction to get up and get him some food.  
Yuki sighed, scratched Mochi behind his ears with one hand, and sat up rubbing the other. As she trotted through the Livingroom, she passed the boys and tried not to trip over any stretched-out arms, and followed the cat into the kitchen. She gave him some food, and then Yuki proceeded to go to the bathroom before she met Osamu in the hallway.

“Mornin’,” he grunted, trying to flatten out his bedhead, “Mochi woke you up?”

“Yeah…” Yuki nodded. “Why are you awake so early?”

“Couldn’t sleep with all the snoring,” he admitted and ruffled his hair. There was something else clouding his mind, Yuki could tell, but she couldn’t point her finger to what. “Wanted to go jogging to clear my head…. but it snowed a little last night.”

Yuki’s eyes lit up. “Really?”

Osamu gently chuckled and ruffled Yuki'shair. “Not enough to make a snowman or anything’…but yeah…”

“Let’s go anyway,” Yuki suggested swatting his hand away. “How about we go for a walk…”

“Right… I’ll get dressed.”

Osamu and Yuki walked silently around the neighborhood that was fast asleep this Sunday. Birds were chirping, the snow crunched under their feet, but it was peaceful otherwise.

Yuki noticed that Osamu was yawning a lot more than usual. The bags under his eyes implied that he didn’t get much sleep. He was quieter than usual, a little frown on his face as if he was heavily weighing on his mind.

“Wanna talk about it?” Yuki asked as smoke puffed out of her mouth, but Osamu shook his head.

“I want to clear my thoughts first…” he said, grim-faced, wiping a hand over his eyes, then he smiled. “Don’t worry about it too much Yu.”

When they returned home, the other boys were still fast asleep, and the two got ready to prep something for breakfast for the others.

Yuki checked their sleeping status, leaning against the doorframe. She smiled as the light showed Suna sleeping rolled up like Mochi, who nestled against him. Yuki pushed off the doorframe and turned around, not noticing that a certain setter had been awake the whole time she watched the first-year middle blocker.

The snores continuously echoed from the living room mixed with some grunts, and soon Atsumu emerged from the living room, scratching his stomach sleepily as he slumped onto a kitchen chair and started nibbling on a leftover pizza crust.

“Mornin’,” Yuki chirped as she cracked another egg into the bowl and started whisking to make omelets.

Atsumu said nothing, then grunted with pizza in his mouth.

“What’s up with ya?” Osamu asked, turning to his brother, who just shot him a glare "Don't worry breakfast will be ready soon!"

The morning was similar to one of many Yuki had spent at the Miyas whenever her dad had to work, and she stayed. Early breakfast, maybe some Volleyball at the park, just general lazy Sundays. The boys slowly woke up one after another, went to the bathroom. When Isamu and Shizue Miya came downstairs, they all were settled on a made-shift long table on the ground, ready to eat.

Omimi and Aran volunteered to help out Shizue in the kitchen to clean up after breakfast. In contrast, the rest of the boys helped clean up the living room under Kita’s supervision so that Akaagi didn't start another pillow fight. 

Osamu was folding some of the futons and carried them to the guest room, with Suna following him with the other stack. 

Very aware of the middle blocker following him alone into the other room the spiker's throat felt dry as he put away the futons under the table.

“It wasn’t necessary that you followed me here,” Osamu said to fill the void.

“I’m sure that you are able to walk twice” Suna nodded, handing Osamu the other stack of futons. “But it’s quicker that way.”

Osamu didn’t reply. He wanted Suna to leave this room…Suna didn’t do that. And somehow, he was happy about it…and it was confusing the heck out of him.

“Look...” Osamu said, standing up patting his hands on his thighs. “You know…about yesterday…”

“That’s why I was here…” Suna nodded and paused a second. He was wiggling his toes. The short pause caused Osamu to open his mouth again.

They both spoke at the same time.

Suna glanced at his feet and said, “I just wanted to thank you for- “

“Let’s not talk what happened yesterday to anyone,” Osamu said and focused on the lamp on the bedside table.

Suna stiffened just a bit and eyed Osamu who was avoiding his gaze vehemently. Suna wanted to reach out a hand, but stopped in his tracks this 

made Osamu glance at him from the corner of his eyes.

The middle blocker was no longer stuff he had slumped down in his usual posture.

“Yeah…right,” Suna said shortly. “Nothing happened. I get it.”

“Suna…” Osamu started, but the middle blocker interrupted him quickly.

“No really, I get it…I just wanted to properly thank you for the party, the food and stuff…” he said and turned on his heel. “Gotta say my thanks to Blondie and Yuki too…you do…you...I guess”

Suna left Osamu in the guest room, and Osamu wondered why he didn’t feel relieved at all.

  
He returned to the living room and saw Suna settling in next to Yuki. The manager and Kita sat around the kotatsu. They helped clean up the living room under Kita’s supervision and were now discussing ideas on how to get money for the next volleyball season. Suna said something to Yuki, she chuckled softly, and the middle blocker patted her head. She jokingly pinched his side and laughed. Suna leaned over to Yuki, their shoulders brushed against each other a closer look at the notebook and said, “I got an idea.”

Osamu turned around to go back to the kitchen and saw Atsumu looking at the little get-together around the kotatsu. Atsumu's eyes glinted at Suna who was leaning into Yuki's personal space and scribbled something into her notebook. Osamu knew his brother, yet the look in his eyes was something he hadn’t seen before but he wasn't in the mood to tease his brother about the jealousy that was practically oozing out of him. He had his own stuff. 

January turned into February. The snowfall got heavier, as did the final exams preparation and general schooling. Yuki was busy with practices. As the snowfall was heavy, the team stopped running outside. Much to her dismay because she didn’t have to join practices when the boy ran outside. Since they nows only practiced inside she spent most of her mornings in the cold gym practice.

The start of February also somehow increased the interest of girls watching the practices in the hope of catching the boys of the teams on their own. They didn’t get the chance because they were shooed away from the gym by Yuki most of the time. She had to deal with enormous love letters and gifts and once again wondered when she had agreed to be the official Inarizaki Volleyball team post office.

She was changing in the dressing room when Yuki received a message from Madoka, asking if their plan for the sleepover that weekend was still up. She realized that she knew why the girls increasingly became more aggressive with their gifts and letters was the upcoming Valentine’s day.

Freaking annoying. She sighed as she wrapped the thick scarf around and dreaded going outside to grab the hot peach-flavored green tea from the vending machine out. She was about to turn at the corner when she heard the sound of a feminine voice.

“So please Suna-kun, please accept my confession.”

Holy shit, Yuki stopped at the corner and peeked around to see that a girl from class 1-B stands with her back to Yuki, head bowed, facing the tall middle blocker. Suna was holding two bottles of tea in his arms, his schoolbag laying on the ground, zipper opened, and the wall sticking out of it as if he had just put it in there.

“Thank you for your courage and honesty Midori-san…but I’m afraid I can’t accept your confession,” he said quietly but gently. He gently tapped the girl on her shoulder, which dropped.

His eyes darted to Yuki and let out a sound of recognition “Ah…Hokkyoku”. He quickly stepped around the girl. Yuki knew it was to shield the girl from her gaze. Nevertheless, the girl turned around, and Yuki saw her crying.  
Suna interrupted the awkward silence that followed by holding up one of the bottles. “I got your peach tea…are we still up for later?”

“Um yeah sure,” Yuki nodded and grabbed the bottle from his hands. “Thanks, Suna…um…are you okay?”

Midori sniffed and darted her eyes between Suna and Yuki, nodding. Yuki searched in her pocket for a tissue and gave it to the girl, then turned on her heel and stated that she was going to class.

On her way to class, though, Yuki was cornered by more girls asking her to put in the right word with one of the Volleyball guys she quickly declined them as sped off to class. All of a sudden the polite asks quickly changed during that day, they became more urgent and Yuki also had the feeling that a big part of girls had started to glare at her. In her lunch break, she heard some girls whisper when she walked by classroom 1-B.

After school was over she even had to step outside to talk to a group of girls that came to watch the practise and cornered Yuki to ask her if she could lift the ban on other people visiting practice. 

"I really can't the coach said that nobody is allowed to watch if it's not a practice match...it disturbs the players" Yuki sighed.

“Hokkyoku, really,” one of them huffed, putting both her hands on her hips. “You already got one of them, don’t keep all the boys to yourself.”

“What are you talking about?” Yuki sighed at the girl in front of her and furrowed her brows as the girls surrounding her nodded. “This is a team practice…you can watch if you apply for a manager position and actually get accepted…but I don’t see you doing that?”

“Managing a team is so much work,” another girl complained, a third one added, “Besides we got our own clubs.”

“So why aren’t you doing club activities and decide to bother us?” Yuki huffed and closed the gym door on them.

Across the gym, the rest of the team could hear the complaints echo through the closed door and saw in amusement how Yuki almost bit her clipboard in frustration then joined them again. They were doing spiking drills one after another in a continuous circle.

Suna thumped the ball on the ground a few times before spiking. The ball flew over the net and landed on the other side of the court.

“Nice kill,” Yuki commented as she closed proximity with the lined-up boys. “Your trajectory was very well done.”

“Thanks, I guess,” Suna shrugged, gave a peace sign, and slumped back to the end of the line. “I’m surprised that you saw that since your geometry skills are shit.”

"At least I am able to write more than two-sentence in proper English Sunarin"Yuki chuckled, and Suna shared a rare smile.

Osamu and Atsumu, who’d been behind Suna in line, shared a glance but didn’t say a thing since it was their turn to spike soon after.

When the boys were in the locker room changing, Gin suddenly spoke up.

“Say Sunarin,” Gin said, remembering the girls talking in his class. “What’s up with that crazy rumor that you and Yuki meet up after school?”

“ Rumors? I dunno...well she is coming over to my place after school…in fact we’re about to head to my place to do some stuying.”

“Wait,” Atsumu turned his head around right after slipping into a thick crewneck. “Like…alone…the two of you?”

“Yeah,” Suna shrugged his eyes glinted a little and narrowed down on the setter “Why are you asking?”

“Nothing…” Atsumu muttered and grabbed his team jacket.

Suna smirked slightly at Atsumu’s pout, but the smirk faltered a little when he caught Osamu’s eyes lingering on him.  
The middle blocker’s mouth pressed into a thin line, and he got up, shoving the rest of his clothes carelessly into his bag.

“Anyone up for some meat buns on our way to the bus stop?” Suna said nonchalantly, the others agreed.

A few days later, Yuki and Atsumu helped clean up the classroom after classes by bringing out the trash. The snow has melted, but a biting cold made Yuki stop several times to adjust the scarf wrapped around her head. Atsumu, as usual, prompted to go outside without a scarf. But he was built differently and sighed with a smile whenever Yuki cursed and complained about the cold.

“So,” Atsumu said as he put down the two bins he was carrying. “The exams are coming up so…how about we do a good ol’ study session Sunday? Say…how about you stay over on Saturday and we’ll hang out all Sunday?”

“Sorry can’t “Yuki apologetically smiled as she tossed the paper bin’s insides into the larger container. “I already have plans…”

“Ya hanging out with Suna again?” Atsumu grumbled, and Yuki shook her head.

She didn’t realize that Atsumu was frowning since she was too busy dumping the other paper trash can.

“I’m actually in Kobe meeting up with Madoka this weekend,” she instead gleefully said. Atsumu just had to smile at her enthusiasm as she continued to babble, “I’m staying over at her place. It’s been way too long since I had time to properly spend time with her.”

“Cool,” Atsumu commented and proceeded to empty the two bins he was holding, “Then I just have to resume studying with Samu alone.”

“You know Sunarin and I are meeting up after school today too. You know since the gym is being expected we scheduled to meet up a little earlier grab some food and study at a café,” Yuki said nonchalantly, but Atsumu rolled his eyes.

“How come ya been spending so much time out of club with Suna?”

He, too, heard the rumors floating around.

“Well…I guess he just asked me one day and we actually work well together… he’d pretty smart if he wasn’t so damn lazy,” Yuki chuckled and stacked the now empty bins. “Ya know…you could join us…that earlier was an offer.”

“I didn’t ask to be included in your little study session,” Atsumu snapped.

Yuki blinked at the sudden outburst. “O-okay…alright I was just offering. Geez what's with you guys...Samu also reacted so weirdly when I asked him earlier. I thought you liked Suna...”

Yuki tilted her head to look at the blonde setter "Really Tsumu...I thought that you started to get along with your teammates now.."

Atsumu grumbled, stacking the bins he was holding, and Yuki was about to ask him what the hell his problem was when a voice caught her off guard.

“Atsumu-kun?” It was Megumi, who just turned around the corner. “Fancy seeing you here.”

Seriously fancy?...by the trash cans?

“Megumi-chan” Atsumu smiled at her, and Yuki wondered when the two had gotten to a first-name basis.

Had she missed something? She coughed a little to interrupted the two staring at each other.

“Say Tsumu…if you want I can carry those up for you…if you are busy,” she said, pointing towards the bins in the setter’s hand.

“Oh Hokkyoku, “Megumi smiled fakely at her. “I didn’t see you there….”

“She is pretty tiny,” Atsumu joked, but Yuki rolled her eyes and took the bins from his hands. “I’ll take these upstairs…”

She passed them and turned around to look at them before she turned at the corner. They were talking and laughing. Back in the classroom, she was met with a cleaned-up classroom, and her peers decided they were done for today and said their goodbyes.

Osamu told her that the coach wanted to talk to her in the staff room and he’d wait up for Tsumu, so Yuki hurried along to the corridor where the Staffroom was. She was busy texting Rin that she got caught up with something, so she only noticed the guy standing in front of the Staffroom when she bumped into him.

She stumbled backward a little, but firm hands quickly got a hold of her shoulders.

“Woah there,” the guy said, and Yuki faintly recognized him from class 1-5 and that he was a member of the Basketball team.

“Oh sorry, I didn’t see you there,” Yuki apologized and bowed her head.

“No worries Volleyball Manager-chan,” he smiled and squeezed her shoulder for a second before he let go with one hand to run it through his sandy blonde hair. “Also here to see a sensei for your grades?”

“Actually for club activities,” Yuki said, and the sandy blonde nodded, “It's about budgeting for our the season that starts with the new school year.”

“Ah busy as a bee as always,” he gave her a lazy smirk. “Only expected of the VB team’s precious manager. Pity that ya don’t have the time to manage two clubs really… 

“Is that a compliment?” Yuki smirked back, she noticed that his hand was still steading her shoulders. It was a little strange.

“Could be,” the guy’s eyed twinkled and let go of her arm “I’m just sayin’ the Basketball team would be delighted to have you…Hokkyoku is it?”

“Yes, Hokkyoku, Yuki “Yuki nodded. “I’m afraid I didn’t catch your name?”

“That hurts a little bit Hokkyoku,” he teased, clutching a hand on his chest, then shook his head and chuckled, extending a hand. “Name’s Koyama, Takashi. A pleasure to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too” she smiled and took his hands in hers.

He had a really nice smile.

The weekend passed by. Even if the neighborhood reminded Yuki of her early childhood in Kobe, she enjoyed her time with Madoka. On Tuesday the 14th, the team met for morning practice, and as they were warming up. When they gathered around for their first water break, Yuki cleared her throat, shuffling with her foot, and nudged the gym bag next to the bench with it. It was still early, and hardly anyone was at school yet, so Yuki thought it would be the perfect timing. 

“Soo…” she said, getting the attention of everybody who whipped their heads around. “Ya know since it’s Valentine’s day I sort of made some Giri choco for y’all….”

She said, taking small wrapped boxes out of the bag and handing them to every baffled member of the team; red-faced and mumbling, she quickly ranted.

“Yeah…so I wasn’t going to make them myself…but I was at Madoka’s and we just ended up making a bunch and I don’t even know if they’re good and stuff…”

“Yuki-chan, thank you so much, “Akaagi grinned, taking a look at the little fox-shaped chocolate. “I really appreciate it!”

“Don’t mention it. It’s nothing… they’re not good probably…just throw them away if you don’t like them,” Yuki said as she shoved the last box into Atsumu’s hand, avoiding his brown eyes on her. 

He was smiling at the little box, which had his name scribbled on it. Osamu already unpacked his box and was eating the chocolate nodding in approval.

“We will do no such thing, “Kita chuckled slightly, “Thank you.”

The others echoed their captain's words.

“Yeah…yeah,” Yuki said, waving her hand in front of her face. “As I said, don’t mention it. Ya gonna get plenty of gifts later on today anyway, from what I heard yesterday.

"Not gonna be as delicious as this one I bet" Suna commented with a shrug and dumped all six pieces into his mouth. The team laughed at that.

Yuki was right; a bunch of girls had gathered in front of the gym after practice and held up the boys while she slipped away to class. Atsumu and Osamu, popular as always, almost didn’t make it in time for class because there were still girls following them, eager to give them bags of chocolate.

This gift-giving didn’t stop at lunchtime as their class had visitors from other people. Yuki slipped after finishing her lunch to schedule some things with the guidance counselor. On her er way back to the classroom took a detour to get some hot chocolate from the vending machine. Why should the boys be the only ones to get chocolate today?

As she turned around the corner at the vending machine, she saw two people standing close together and quickly cursed as she once again almost walked into a confession scene as it seemed.

You heard the sound of giggling and a chuckle that was very familiar to you. It was Atsumu.

There was shuffling and more giggling. Then the giggle from the girl turned into words.

“Thank you for accepting my chocolate Atsumu-kun,” Megumi’s melodic purr reached your ear.

Yuki wasn’t sure if she heard it right, but she was convinced that she didn’t want to intrude further. Suddenly she felt a little queasy and decided that hot chocolate wasn’t the best idea to get now and went back to class.

“Yuki are you okay…you look pale?” Osamu noticed as she slumped into her chair and dropped her head onto her desk.

“Yeah, fine…just… it’s nothing…” Yuki muttered and eyed Atsumu carefully as he returned to the classroom, beaming and looking very proud of himself. When the school day ended, the boys were again flooded by girls, and Yuki once more slipped away, mumbling an “I’m going home….you guys take your time.”

March came, and the exam marathon started. They had one every second day for the following two weeks, studying and practice kept the team busy. 

Not too busy however since Atsumu and Megumi went on a date. Yuki didn’t hear it from Atsumu himself. In fact, for some reason, they weren't talking much these days. It was Osamu who let it slip during a walk back home after school, Suna silently trotting along with them. Atsumu had told Yuki that he wanted to stay in the gym to practice his spikes. When she offered to help him, he declined, telling her that she needed to study for exams.

Osamu told her that Atsumu insisted that it wasn’t really a date…to which Suna humorously huffed and changed the topic. The local indoor swimming pool opened up again after winter break. He asked if they were interested in going for cardio training. Yuki gleefully agreed while Osamu declined, eyebrow raised at Yuki and Suna in confusion.

So Suna and Yuki went alone on Friday afternoon. They didn’t stay long because Suna was supposed to catch a train that night to go back home after a long time.

Yuki stayed over at the Miya’s on Saturday to study. Atsumu came home late, so he didn’t join Osamu and Yuki until Sunday, and something felt off. Yuki told them about the new pool’s renovations and how exhausting it was for her to pick up swimming again.

“I swear, Suna almost had to carry me back to the bus stop because my legs felt like jelly,” she said, drowsy under the warmth of the kotatsu. “But Suna thinks it’s great for muscle recovery and stuff and I agree…”

“If Suna says so...” Atsumu muttered absentmindedly over his notes.

“What’s got your guts in a knot?” Yuki wondered, leaning over to grab a pocky stick.

“Ya haf been spending a lot of time with Sunarin lately,” Atsumu assessed, crossing out a math problem on his worksheet. “Been a while since we studied together.”

“Yeah, I always told you that we’d be happy for you to join,” Yuki said and turned to Osamu, who was nibbling at a chip. “Both of you, however, constantly declined…”

“Suna is a scrub,” Atsumu answered, and Osamu sighed, mumbling something about liking to work alone.

“What’s with you guys?” Yuki rolled her eyes. “He isn’t that bad, pretty smart if he wasn’t so damn lazy… Tsumu…I thought you wanted to try to get along with teammates better.”

“And as long as dear Suna keeps hittin’ my tosses I’m fine… doesn’t mean that I have to spend time with him outside of club.”

“Okay?” Yuki rolled her eyes then darted her eyes to Osamu. “Soo…what is your problem with Suna then?”

“I don’t have a problem!” Osamu said a little too quickly and loudly for it to be not suspicious. Atsumu put down his pencil to look at his brother; their eyes met. A silent conversation between twins, the one Yuki hated because she couldn’t stop feeling envious that she somehow was not included in that. No matter how close the three were.

Osamu’s eyes darted to Yuki for a second before he nonchalantly asked, “So question number 7 what do you guys have?”

“89,” Atsumu said, tapping his book with his pencil.

Osamu muttered, scratching his head, “I got 145.”

“I got the feeling that you guys are avoiding a conversation here,” Yuki sighed and looked at her notes. “Got 89 too…”

“Say….Atsumu,” Yuki suddenly said while they scribbled down the next exercise. “The other day I saw this great offer for White Day…you know…”

Atsumu froze, his head whipped around to directly look at the Inarizaki manager who crossed out a number on her workbook. “What are you implying? I thought yer gave us giri choc-“

“For Megumi you idiot,” Yuki grimaced, starting the exercise again. “I kinda overheard that you accepted her chocolate on Valentine’s day…so you should do something nice in return for her on White Day…”

She looked up at him. Tired amber eyes met shocked brown ones as Yuki said, “Do it…you know… I’ll support you…and her…”

Atsumu’s mouth opened as if he was about to say something, then it closed again. He tilted his head for a second then looked at Osamu, who was very carefully watching Yuki and Atsumu from under his eyes.

Once more, the twins had a silent conversation. Causing Yuki to sigh, “You know how much I hate it when you guys do that… I’m still here you know…”

“Yuki…um I…” Atsumu started, but the manager interrupted him

“Really Tsumu, go for it.. it’s obvious you like her and she is always all over you…so why don’t you give it a try…” she mumbled, then turned to Osamu, “Don’t ya think so too Samu?”

“I don’t have a say here…” Osamu held up his hands.

“Alright, be passive then...” Yuki rolled her eyes and grabbed her phone. “I photographed the offer lemme send it to ya…”

She tapped on her phone then paused, biting her lip.

“Is something wrong?” Osamu saw that she’d tensed up, and Yuki held up a finger. Wait a second. She tapped on the screen and put the phone to her ear.

“Hey….” She sputtered. “What’s up…you can’t just message  
me that and then tell me not to worry…”

Osamu and Atsumu held their breath to listen to the voice at the other end of the line. It was Suna, but they couldn’t hear what he said.

“Seriously Suna… what’s up?” Yuki bit her lip and stood up. “Wait a second…Rin…please tell me you didn’t…gosh…please be safe….”

The level of concern in Yuki’s tone was confusing Osamu. Wasn’t Suna supposed to be in Aichi this weekend? Atsumu, on the other hand, was observing Yuki, who’d stood up and was now pacing up and down the living room, nodding and giving short hums as responses to whatever Suna was saying on the other line.

“Do you need me to come over?” Yuki said, then glanced at the table. “I’m with the twins they could also...okay…no…okay not them…I could come to... no biggie…. I’ll text my dad alright…Gimme a second… I’ll call you back.”

Yuki sighed, pressing the red button on her phone, and dialed her dad’s number. “Hey dad, sorry to bother you but I have a favor to ask….remember I told you about Suna…yes Rinatrou so..:”

She said and left the living room to talk. Apparently she went into the guest room to talk leaving the twins to wonder what was happening.

“Say….Samu,” Atsumu said, glancing at the spot where Yuki had last stood. “Are ya thinking what I’m thinking?”

Osamu didn't immediately reply, “Tsumu, what are you thinking?”

Atsumu didn’t want to say it. That he had the feeling that Suna and Yuki suddenly became very close was bothering him.

“They’re getting together… aren’t they,” Atsumu said calmly, “…and that I should support it…because she said she’d support me no matter what, so I should do the same?

Osamu didn’t say a thing at first but sighed and rubbed a hand over his eyes and muttered, “Yer an idiot…”

Yuki returned to the hallway. She was speaking to Suna again softly, “Alright Rin, just take care of yourself…see you soon.”

“I’m not…” Atsumu said, returning back to his notes. A notification popped up on his phone. An offer for White Day from that Cafe Yuto went to with his girlfriend that Yuki sent him. Yuki, who just called Suna by his first name…and a nickname Rin. Yuki started to pack up her stuff and apologized, stating that Suna had some issues and asked her to help him.

“He didn’t get into an accident did he?” Osamu asked, and Yuki shook her head and quickly wrapped her scarf around her neck.

“Family trouble… don’t worry about it…” she waved them off. “Sorry to cut this short…but I gotta go…. see you tomorrow.”

“Bye Tsumu, Samu”

“Bye Yu”

Atsumu nodded and waved, 

Yuki paused and glanced at him, tilting her head "You okay Tsumu?"

"Yeah" he sighed and shoved his hands in his pockets "Thanks for the tip with the offer...I think I'll take her there"

"Oh..." Yuki nodded "Sure...good luck then...."

Osamu wanted nothing more at this moment than to slap his hands to his forehead.

"Right..." Atsumu nodded, “Goodbye Yuki.”

Why did this feel like he was also saying goodbye to something else besides his childhood friend?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah...so a little more angst this chapter. Slow burn muhahahaha
> 
> I've wanted to upload the chapter on Valentine's Day, but I got caught up with my Valentine's Day even on TUMBLR. If you want you can take a look at the request, a collection of various Haikyuu!! Characters and Reader insert and love songs. All fluffy and cute.
> 
> Since I'm shamelessly self-promoting right now : I've started a new series College AU Tsukishima X Reader: "Iridescent". Check it out if you want <3
> 
> Hope you're having a great day.


End file.
